Snow Fall
by Ashfirebolt
Summary: Snow. It was always one of the things that puzzled me most. How it could be so beautiful, so pure, and yet so dark and dangerous at the same time. I just lay there looking up at the snow, knowing it had taken the most important thing from my life. And I lay there until the tears froze on my face. Snow was not innocent and I would never think it was again.
1. Snow Fall

Snow Fall

Snow. It was always one of the things that puzzled me most. How it could be so beautiful and so pure yet so dark and so dangerous at the same time. When I was little, my favourite thing to do when it snowed was lie in the snowy grass and just stare up and the snow falling down. Like most kids I would sometimes try to catch the flakes with my tongue but I preferred to just watch and think. It was therapeutic. Mum and dad would watch me from the window and laugh at me but I didn't care. Yeah it was wet and it was cold but as long as I had a thick coat and a good hat on I was unstoppable. I would return inside with hands that would nearly burn as the indoor heat hit them. I'd curl up by the fire and just let my thoughts run wild while I warmed up and my clothes dried. It was the closest I ever felt to peace. But like everything, peace is short lived.

Mum would never drive in the snow. Too dangerous she would tell me. She hated braking and not knowing if the car would definitely stop. She chose to walk instead or get lifts with people. I didn't mind though. School was near by and I just meant more time in the snow. Don't get my wrong, I slipped all the time but the bruises seemed a small price to pay for the joy I felt in the snow. Dad built a sled that winter. I mean I say sled, it was a sheet of plastic with two holes drilled into it and a rope looped between them to make do as a handle. Not the most sled like in the world but as long as you pulled at the rope hard enough you would soar down the lane towards my house. It made me feel like a bird swooping down to catch its prey except much more magical than that.

That's what we were doing that afternoon. Sledding. Mum wanted to put the dinner on and dad wanted to snooze by the fire but I begged and pleaded with them to take me outside. I was old enough to do it myself but it was never as fun on my own and dad could really give you a strong push. It took time but they finally agreed to take me out because we all knew the snow wouldn't last much longer.

It delighted me to no end. Noses being nipped at by the cold. Laughing faces and being able to see your own breath. It was amazing.

We should up at the top of the road and mum told me this was the last go. They would give me one more push down the lane before going inside and warming up. The sun had already started to go down and it was getting harder to see but from the lights of an approaching car I could see snowflakes beginning to form on mums eyelashes so I nodded and hopped on the sled. Mum and Dad both gave it an almighty show and I was soaring down the lane. But this time it didn't feel right. It was like I had left my stomach back at the top of the road with mum and dad.

I tried to stop or to turn my self around but I was going to fast.

I heard the sounds of breaks squealing from the approaching car I had seen earlier.

I heard the awful noise that followed of metal bending.

But worst of all I heard screams. Two to be exact. And I just knew.

Turns out driving can be dangerous in snow whether you're in the vehicle or outside of it.

The sled was going at such speed at some point that I'm unaware of it tipped me out onto a mound of snow. I just lay there as the tears rolling down my face froze in place until my already pale hair was covered in snow.

I just lay there staring up at the snow falling knowing I would never ever look at it the same.

Knowing that it had taken the two most important things in my life and that I had helped it by begging them to come out and play.

Each flake that fell seemed to be laughing at me. Laughing at how innocent I had thought snow was.

Even my name seemed to be mocking me. Poor little Jack Frost who had lost his parents to snow. The irony was rich. Snow was not innocent nor would I ever think it was again.

 _ **Hi! So this is just a little story that popped into my head late at night and I know it's far from perfect but I just wanted to write it down. I have a question for all of you. Do you want me to leave it as a oneshot or do you want me to continue it as a story about Jack? Obviously it's a AU but I would add in all the rest of the characters and maybe about how Jack struggles after the loss of this parents? Or maybe I should just leave it as it is. Anyway, leave a little review telling me what you think I should do!**_

 _ **Thanks a million for reading and I might possibly see you soon if that's what yous want?**_


	2. New Beginning's

**Hi guys, so after the last chapter I got two reviews saying two different things so I** **wasn't sure whether to continue or quit so I decided that the easiest thing to do would be to write one more chapter and then make up my mind so please let me know what you think I should do.**

 _New Beginnings_

Foster care. Good idea badly executed Jack decided. Children needed care, especially those without families of their own but was it really that good of an idea to group ten very different children of different ages into the one house? Especially with two adults both who cared very little for the children over the age of ten. A group which Jack unfortunately fell into. The first day anywhere was always the hardest but was it supposed to be this hard?

Jack's head was spinning with new names and new faces none of which seemed to line up with each other. He was shown to a grubby little room that he shared with Tom or was it John or maybe even Shaun. He didn't really know and he was afraid to ask. Whoever he was he was the oldest in the house and because of that held a 'better than you' attitude. Jack doubted they would be making fast friends as already… Conor! That was his name! Conor sounded nothing like the other names Jack had thought of. Anyway, already Conor had shown that he didn't really care by pointing at Jacks side telling him to stay in it and not to touch his stuff.

Jack plopped himself down on his bed. It was stiff and uncomfortable and nothing like his old bed or his old room for that matter. He sighed. Really the room should be the least of his worries what with what had happened as of late. Even thinking of it caused a pang of guilt to twist in his stomach so tightly that it hurt. He had to take deep breaths to calm himself and he didn't want Conor to see him cry. 'Fourteen year olds don't cry' He thought rubbing his eyes. He was tired. It had been a miserable couple of weeks being passed from distant relative to distant relative all making up excuses as to why they couldn't keep him. Though in all honesty Jack didn't really like the thought of staying with second cousin Steve miles away from where he was used to. No a foster home was probably the best place for Jack. It's what he deserved after what he had done he decided.

On that thought dinner was served and his housemother Julia shouted but the stairs to them. Conor bolted down the stairs while Jack followed slowly behind. He wasn't excited about being back in the madness of the house. But it wasn't until he reached the table that he realised he should have gone a little faster. All the food was served, instead of on individual plates, in large bowls and plates in the middle of the table. It was a free for all. And Jack was the last there. All that was left of what he assumed was a great dinner was a few soggy potatoes and a burnt looking bit of chicken. Jacks sat down quietly at his place and took his food. It was bland and the textures were all wrong but he was beyond caring. He just put mouthful after mouthful into his mouth because he knew that what he should do. He didn't really care about food. Or anything else for that matter.

Everyone else was shouting across the table at one another but Jack was ignored which he was thankful for. The only interaction he had throughout the whole dinner was a small smile from the girl across the table, Lucy he thought her name was. She was the only other person over the age of ten. She was the one that had explained to Jack that Julia and Max didn't care about them. She told him it wasn't on purpose but more that it was because the younger children needed more attention but she said that it just got out of control to the point where they just seemed to stop caring what they did or didn't do.

As soon as dinner was over Jack cleared his plates and cutlery and loaded them into the dishwasher something he noticed that nobody else had done before going up to his room. He could hear from downstairs that people were watching football or something loud with lots of cheering and groaning.

After unpacking his few belongings into the chest of drawers he was given he just lay down on his bed with his eyes shut as though he were going to sleep although he knew sleep would not come easily to him tonight. School was starting tomorrow. Jack was attending a new school the one that Lucy and Conor where going to. New school new people, lovely. He didn't want a new school. He loved his old one, he had friends, good grades and the teachers liked him. They would understand his new mood. Not the way that all the new people would see him. To them he would be a moody, unsociable pain in the backside. That's not how he wanted to be known. He would be happy if he could. It just didn't work like that. He didn't feel like he could be happy again. The guilt was killing him no matter how often he was told it was his fault.

After a while Conor returned to the room jumping into his bed. Jack lay silently waiting for Conor's breathing to slow down and eventually fall asleep. It was only then that Jack allowed the tears he had been holding in all day flow out of his eyes. He silently sobbed until finally he fell asleep, his face wet with tears.

 **So that's either the end of the one shot or chapter two of the story, so let me know what you think. All reviews appreciated, criticism or not. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Custodes

_**Hi! So I've written a longer chapter which was sort of a struggle as the n key on my keyboard got stuck which made writing extra hard. I hope you's liked it. I did a few language games with the names like Fia/Tooth and also the name of the school is guardian in Latin so I liked that. Hope you's enjoy and feel free to leave a review with your thoughts or even what sort of road you's would like this story to go down. Thanks for reading this far at least!**_

 _Custodes_

Jack's eye stung with sleep deprivation. The light burned his eyes and he wanted nothing more than to turn around a go back to sleep, although he doubted he would fall asleep easily after the struggle he had had last night before falling into a fitful sleep full of nightmares.

Nightmares were not a new experience to Jack. He had had the odd few where he had started to fall and woken up sweaty and breathless but knew full well that the nightmare was over.

Not this time.  
No, not this time.

You see the thing is with those nightmares once you wake up, that's it. You're pulled into the real world and can sigh with relief and laugh and tell people about the odd dream you had where you were going across a plank very high up and typically fallen and people would grin and pretend the dream had a deep meaning like he was going to be trampled by an elephant and you would be so caught up by these discussions you forgot about why you had been scared at all.

Not with these. These nightmares were crippling. It filled Jack with a terror like none he had seen before. If there really was a boogie man then Jack reckoned he spent the night terrorising Jack. And the thing was there was no one to tell him it was okay and that it was just a dream. No one to assure him that he was safe. No one to discuss them with and laugh about afterwards. And anyway what would Jack say to explain them. "Oh hey guys, turns out I'm terrified of snow funnily enough."

Who was scared of snow? But it wasn't just the snow. Jack knew that. Didn't make him feel any better though. How to explain that every time he closed his eyes he could see flurries fall down on top of him building up and up until he eventually stopped being able to breathe, until his throat closed up as he choked and spluttered and the snow began to become heavy on his chest until his lungs burned, until suddenly he wasn't under snow but under icy water, uselessly attempting to thread water and try to reach the surface which was never close enough, no matter how hard he pushed, no matter how much he begged, pleaded for help, no one ever heard him.

And then he'd wake up thinking that he was still underwater as his face would be soaking but quickly realising that no, it was just his tears.

He hated nightmares. But he thought maybe he hated normal dreams more.

Because in normal dreams he would spend time with his parents, chat, and just do day to day things. They were lovely while they lasted but the morning was always awful because he might as well have been having a nightmare when he woke with a thought on his lips to tell his mother but quickly realising that that wasn't going to happen. The pangs he felt in his stomach every time he realised had not improved in the slightest and if fact he thought it was getting worse.

The stress was getting to him. He avoided sleep at every chance he got because he didn't want to plagued with nightmares anymore. He was done. Weight was dripping off of him, giant black bags made his eyes look like he had gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. He disliked his new school as no one wanted to be friends with the pale boy that never spoke. He had joined the school when he was fourteen turning fifteen and now a year later he still found himself sitting by himself in every class and at every lunch but he preferred being alone.

His social worker, Mr Moon, had decided that Jack's disposition was due to school and having no friends. He decided to take matters into his own hands. He was a guidance counsellor in a school about half an hour away from where Jack was living. Custodes was the name of the school and Mr Moon thought it would be a good idea to send Jack there because this school didn't counter for the whole of secondary school. They instead focused on students in fourth and fifth year because they found it easier to deal with just two age groups and that meant students received more focus and help approaching their exams and heading to college. This meant that all the students entering fourth year would be new, and all around the same age as Jack.

Jack knew that wasn't what the problem was but he was beyond caring. He didn't bother arguing because it's not like he even liked his school to begin with. Since the accident he had only spoken to his old friends once or twice but as expected they drifted after not seeing each other and it just seemed awkward.

So that September Jack started his knew school. His eyes were heavy but he felt about as rested as he usually once as he blearily rubbed his eyes watching Julia tearing through his clothes to get something suitable to wear to school. This was slightly difficult as Jack had very few possessions and couldn't care less what he wore. She decided on a blue hoodie left by a previous child and a pair of jeans.

"Throw that on and come down for breakfast." Julia told Jack. "Seen as it's your first day I'll drive you." She said ruffling his blonde hair looking slightly concerned as since he had arrived it had slowly become more and more white rather than blonde, due to stress she guessed.

Jack gave her a small smile and a nod. Everyone else had left for school already but Jack didn't need to rush as he was getting a lift. He threw on his clothes before heading down the stairs. Usually to be the last to breakfast you'd be left with crumbly cornflakes but Julia had kept him a dish with bacon and eggs kept warm in the over.

'I must be in bad shape for them to give me this much attention.' Jack thought not liking attention on him. It sort of creeped him out a bit. He picked at his breakfast until enough was gone to be able to say he had tried. When he had finished, Julia handed him a sandwich for lunch which he wordlessly packed away before they headed off to school.

His new school was tiny. He was used to a school that had about four stories and spread across large ground. This school was one story. The grounds had just enough room for a gymnasium, car park and the school itself. Across the road a bit there was a tennis court and basketball court next to the football pitch. The inside of the school wasn't much better. There was about twenty class rooms altogether, a canteen and a library. Along with that there were a few computer rooms, labs and the home ec kitchen and the woodwork room. It was so small it genuinely took Jack by surprise.

His morning consisted of a tour around the school along with the 80 or so other fourth years. In his last school there had been at least 200 in his year and that was considered very small.

After the tour and because everyone was new they were split into groups of five to get to know one another. Jack quietly observed the four other members of his group. They could not be more different if they tried.

The first he noticed had to be the tallest seventeen year old he had ever seen. He was at least 6'5 and was built like a rugby player with broad shoulder purely made up of muscle. He intimidated Jack who only stood at about 5'11.

The next was a scruffy looking boy with thick bushy eyebrows and scruffy brown hair. He had an even tan and a tattoo around his bicep. He had a pen behind his ear and studied the room as though painting everything with his eyes.

The only girl in the group was jumpy little petite thing that couldn't keep still. She reminded Jack of a hummingbird and it seemed if she sat still she would literally die. She had long golden hair that was plaited back with colourful flowers sprinkled through her hair. Her eyes were a vibrant green and everything else about her was bright.

The last member would easily have gone unnoticed. He was about the smaller than the girl and was like a little teddy. He had a very golden look to him. Golden hair, golden skin and golden eyes. He reminded Jack a bit of a golden retriever.

"We should introduce ourselves!" The girl chirped excitedly. "My name is Fia Ferry." She smiled.  
"Is that even a real name?" The second boy asked surprising Jack with a thick Australian accent.

"Of course it's a real name." She said never losing her grin. "It's short for Fiacla. It's…"  
"Irish." Jack interrupted surprising himself by the grin on his face. "You name is Fiacla?" He asked starting to laugh.

"What's wrong with that? Why are you laughing?" She asked confused.  
"Do you speak Irish?" He asked looking at her as she shook her head. "Fiacla is the Irish for teeth. Your surname is Ferry. Your name is literally Tooth Fairy." Jack said as the others began to join in with the laughter including Fia.

"Oh my god." She laughed. "My parent's found out they were pregnant with me while in Ireland. They seen the word on a random poster and asked how it was pronounced and loved it. They thought it was a sign that that should be my name." She giggled.

"Moving on. I'm Aster Lapin." The Australian said when the laughter subsided. "I was born in Australia and I moved here this summer." He explained.  
"Is Aster a common name?" Fia questioned.  
"Well not really. It's my middle name and its loads better than my first name." He admitted.  
"Which is?" The large man asked with a hint of a Russian accent.  
"Edmund." He said scrunching his nose up.  
"Wait so you're Edmund Aster?" Jack asked to which he received nods. " ?" He said grinning once again.

"Yes! My name is ." He said. "What's so funny about that?"  
"Well my dear Koala, it's just your name is , or Easter which means we have a Tooth Fairy and an Easter Bunny." Jack grinned.  
"Call me a Koala or a bunny again and you'll see what happens." Aster said angrily to which Jack replied with a laugh.  
"Sorry it's just too good to be true." He said. "Next he'll be saying he Santa. Ain't that right St. Nick?" Jack grinned at the Russian who blushed. "My name is Nick." He said which received a mighty laugh from the group. "Nicholas North." He grinned

"What about you then? What's your name?" Fia asked the last boy smiling down at him. The boy pulled out a notepad and began to scribble on it, his tongue poking at the corner of his mouth. When he was finished he turned it around for them all to read. It read ' _My name is Sandy, I'm your very own Sandman, haha'_ which got a grin from everyone. He started scribbling again. ' _I'm not deaf; I just have a speech impediment so I prefer it this way.'_ They all nodded _._

"That's fine Sandy, you have really nice handwriting by the way." Fia smiled.

"Okay, you've made fun of all our names, how do you fit into this equation?" Nick asked.

"I'm the one and only Jack Frost." Jack grinned cheekily. "The most important member."

Jack missed laughing and taking the piss out of his friends. He could almost ignore the knot in his stomach. Maybe this school would be different.

"Your parents must have really hated you to call you that." Aster joked as the pit came back in full force. Maybe not.


	4. Old and New Faces

_**(Hi! First things first, merry Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, New Year or anything else you may have celebrated! I'd like to say that I think this chapter is rubbish; it's a filler chapter to introduce new people and get a feel for how much of loner Jack is. Also I am god awful at writing dialogue as is probably stupidly clear in this chapter. That being said, I hope you don't hate it and that it may be slightly enjoyable to read. Fingers crossed the next chapter is better!)**_

Jack didn't know what to say in response. I mean, what did you say to that?

"Well your family must have been Jesus nuts naming you after Easter." He said with a confident smirk that did not reflect what was happening inside of him. Just when he thought maybe he could have friends again he was reminded of why that wasn't a good idea. They didn't know his story and sympathy friends were the last thing he wanted at the moment.

Just as Aster opened his mouth to reply a sharp bell rang. One of the teachers in the room with them looked up.

"Lunch time." He smiled "I hope everyone remembers their way to the cafeteria." He grinned

Fia began asking the others if they were buying lunch or if they took their own. Everyone but Jack had decided to buy lunch. Jack sighed with relief. That meant that they would all head into the cafeteria together and he could be by himself.

As they neared the queue, Jack started to fall back hoping they wouldn't notice. Once they were far enough away he turned around and spotted a small table right in the corner that was empty. He plopped himself down lifting out the lunch that had been prepared for him. He wasn't particularly hungry but he knew that eating was a good excuse for keeping his head down. He didn't want to draw attention to himself although perhaps the hair would be a slight giveaway. He pulled up his hood and settled in picking at the lunch in front of him. He'd love a cup of tea or coffee but that would mean leaving his little sanctuary.

Ever since…. It had happened Jack had struggled to completely warm himself up. Especially his hands and feet. It seemed that no matter what he did, he was in a permanent state of having the chills. That was why he tended to stick to cups of tea or coffee because for a least a few minutes his hands weren't in danger of turning blue which had happened on more than one occasion.

Just as Jack was starting to feel safe he heard the screech of a chair being pulled out and seen Sandy plopping himself down followed by Fia who started talking the second she sat down.

"Nearly didn't see you there." She laughed as she lay down her tray. "Pity there wasn't a table with enough room for all of us but the cafeteria doesn't seem to take long filling up. We'll need to get out earlier tomorrow." She giggled. "Oh and Aster and Nick are looking for another table to take over to this one." She smiled.

Jack looked around and seen she was right. The cafeteria had filled up quickly leaving no seats at big tables left. He peered at Fia and seen that she didn't realise he had been trying to avoid them. And if she didn't the other probably didn't either. Jack sighed. That meant he would have to try harder to make them not want to be friends with him.

Jack didn't reply to Fia and instead turned back to his food picking at bits and pieces of it not in the mood for anything.

"Mate no wonder you're so bloody skinny if all you do is nibble at your food." A booming voice exclaimed, announcing Aster to the rest of the table followed by Nick dragging a table behind to join up to the other.

"I'm not skinny." Jack frowned looking up at Aster. "I just have better things to be doing than staying in the gym all day staring at myself in the mirror." Jack replied hoping to strike a nerve however just getting a raised eyebrow in response.

"Not skinny? I can easily fit my fingers around your wrist with room to spare. You're tiny too, I'd say you and Fia could nearly share clothes." Nick laughed joining in.

"I'm not small either, I'm 5'9." Jack declared knowing that he wasn't nearly as tall as the two in front of him but he was a good few inches taller than Sandy.

The boys laughed as Fia grinned excitedly. "Jack if you'd like you can borrow this dress anytime." She smiled not opposed to being compared to Jack. "And I'm 5'7." She grinned. "Meaning in heels, I would tower over you.

"Poor ittle Jackson can barely reach this table." Aster grinned while Jack rolled his eyes. He usually enjoyed banter like this but today it just wasn't for him.

"I'm not even the smallest here, Sandy is clearly only about 5 foot tall." Jack retorted.

"Yeah but that height suits Sandy." Nick shot back. "You look as though you should at least be 6'" Nick said as Sandy held up five fingers on one hand and three on the other. "See he's not 5 foot, he's 5'3."

Jack decided he'd had enough of the chatting and started gathering up his things. "Sorry guys, I need to go check something in the library." He said hoping that his quick leave would be seen as rude and they would leave him alone. They all looked at him with confusion wondering if they had done something to offend him.

Instead of going to the library where they could easily follow him he decided instead to just wander around and get the feel for his new school. It wasn't very big but that just meant that teachers would be less tolerant with you if you were late. He knew his next class was English so he decided to start there and work his way back. He found that the English room was down near the practical classrooms like woodwork or metalwork. Sitting on the floor in front of the door was a load of boys chatting and eating their lunch. Jack turned and began walking the other way not wanting to disturb them.

"Frost?" He heard in a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. He turned around and seen a boy he very much recognised. Damien Tamas. Damien had gone to Jacks first school. He lived not far from Jacks home and more than likely knew the full story. He always gave out a confident aura but to Jack it had come across as cocky. He didn't trust him as far as he could throw him.

"Hey." Jack replied with a then lipped smile. "How's it going?" He asked.  
"Not too bad not too bad." Damien replied with a laugh. "I didn't know you were going to go here but then again, I haven't heard much about you ever since the… well you know." He said with a shrug. "Any way, how have you been?" He asked

Jack shrugged. "Yeah fine, heard this was a good school and here I am." He said wondering how to get away before a thought struck him. "Could you keep that to yourself by the way? You know, I just don't want pity friends, got enough of that already." He admitted.

"Oh yeah, yeah sure!" Damien replied. "Course I won't say, it'll be out little secret, you needn't worry." He grinned. Jack sighed with relief, at least he wouldn't have to worry about that. "Thanks, better go find my friends anyway." Jack said pointing absentmindedly behind before backing up as Damien waved him off.

Jack managed to get a good bit around the school before the bell rang again so he made his way to the English room. He managed to get a seat alone but was soon approached by a girl.

"Can I sit here?" She asked with a lilting accent that Jack couldn't quite place. Jack nodded observing her slightly as she got somethings out of her bag.

She was pretty but not gorgeous. She was average height and an average weight and nothing about her was amazing but something about her really drew his eye to her. Her eyes he thought it was. They were unbelievably blue.

"I'm Sophie by the way." She smiled looking at him holding out her hand.

"Jack." He said as he shook it noticing she didn't even flinch at the cold.


	5. Sophie

_(I am back! Sorry for the wait, life just got a little busy and I needed a break, but I have passed all my exams and am ready to write again! Thank you all for your well wishes, they meant so much to me and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!)_

Sophie, as it turns out, liked the sound of her own voice.

No, she really liked the sound of her own voice.

Jack nearly regretted asking her any questions because it just gave her an excuse to blabber for ten minutes each time.

He wasn't left pondering where he could place her accent for long because she wasn't long telling him.

"This school is great, isn't it?" She asked excitedly. "This is my first school ever that wasn't Irish or Catholic." She had told him.

"That's where I'm from, Ireland. And before you ask we do not say 'top of the morning to you' we're far more likely to say 'howerya?' or 'what's the craic?' or even just 'yes'."

Jack hadn't really known how to reply to that. As she spoke he noticed Fia and Sandy coming into the room. Fia had smiled and waved at him but Jack just gave her a half-hearted smile back.

Talking wasn't really for Jack but Sophie had decided to just not wait for responses and just continuously talk as though in a conversation.

"My dad got a job over here. He didn't want to move, nor did mum but we decided it would be for the best for the family. And they gave us this amazing house down in…." That was when Jack stopped listening. He couldn't care less why she was here.

Instead of listening, Jack glanced around the room. Like the rest of the school, it wasn't huge, just an average class room. It was painted a light yellow colour with an interactive whiteboard at the front of the room. Shelves circled around the room filled with books. Some books had multiples of them whereas others were standalones. Jack glanced at the clock. The teacher should arrive any minute.

"…and my cousin goes to this school so that's why dad decided to send me here." Sophie finished off just as Jack tuned back in. "You might know his, Aster? He's Australian." She explained.

"Aster Lapin?" Jack asked raising an eyebrow. No way could Aster and this girl be related. Aster barely spoke two words to Jack whereas she would not shut up for two seconds to draw a breath. They were like night and day.

Sophie nodded excitedly. "You know him?" She exclaimed. "That's so cool! I think he's great, he doesn't say much but I just find him so cool! He never really wants me around though." She said rolling her eyes. "He reckons I'm too 'excitable' whatever that means but I don't listen to him. I think he just likes to pretend he's tough when really he'll start crying if you talk badly about animals." She said as Jack took a mental note. 'Cries about animals.' He smirked.

Just as Sophie opened her mouth to spout some more nonsense, a teacher walked in. He was of average height, with brown hair and a brown beard. One look at his face told the class that he didn't want to be there anymore than they did.

"Open your copy books and take down what I write on the board." He announced with the most monotone voice imaginable.

The teacher wrote up 'Don't judge a book by its cover' – Discuss

"I want you all to write a page with this heading. These pieces are anonymous. When you're finished please leave the unnamed piece at the top of the class. " He announced. "Quietly, if you would." He said before sitting himself down behind the desk.

Just like that everyone started scribbling away, all trying to outdo each other on the first day to prove they were the best writer in the room. Most wrote about what the literal meaning of the phrase was. But not Jack. Jack decided to write from the heart and to write what he honestly thought.

When he was finished, he, like the rest of the class, left the piece at the pile at the front.

When everyone was done the teacher rubbed his hands together. "Now it's time for my favourite part. We get to read some out loud for the rest of the class." Jacks stomach dropped. What he had written wasn't meant to be read aloud. It was more like a stream of consciousness.

"To make it fair we will first shuffle the books." The teacher said. "And don't worry. No one will know it was you."

The teacher shuffled the pieces together before picking out one from the middle. And as Jacks luck went of course it was his. The teacher cleared his throat dramatically before starting

"Don't judge a book by its cover. What a load of bollox. Everyone judges a book by its cover. It's human nature. Maybe we don't try and do it but we do. How else will we know if we want to read it. We need something to catch our eye. To attract us to it. And we all know at this stage, we're not actually talking about books.

Take myself for example. I like to put on a show for onlookers. I want to appear happy go lucky, with bright eyes and a brighter future ahead of me. I want people to look at me and envy the confidence I admit. But I also don't want people to come near me. So I put up a wall, keep people out, make myself seem haughty.

And I know it works. People don't want to be friends with the boy who wants no friends. Who can blame them? Judging a book by its cover is what I want because the second that cover comes off, it's all over.

Everyone will know that I'm nothing but a sad little person, with too many things going on in the background to write down. People would know that I have no one, no one at all that cares about me. That I was passed from family member to family member, with not one of them actually wanting to take care of their own flesh and blood. That they would rather hand me off to a foster home than to put up with me.

No, if people could see past the cover they would stop reading. Who wants a sad, depressing book when instead you can read one full of life and full of love that starts with 'once upon a time' and ends with 'happily ever after'. No one wants to read a book that ends with hopelessness and despair.

So please, continue to read a book by its cover, but just don't delve in any further than that."

The Teacher paused, not sure what to say. The class began to look around all wondering who wrote it. Not wanting to be discovered, Jack joined them in searching the class, praying his face wouldn't give him away.

"That was so sad." Sophie whispered to Jack. "I wonder who it was." She said which Jack nodded to.

"Could be anyone." He replied trying hard to keep all emotion out of his voice.


	6. You Say Blackmail, I Say Friendship

_You say blackmail, I say Friendship_

The teacher regained his composure and read through some more of the students work, but Jack didn't listen. All he wanted was for his heart to stop beating. To him it sounded so loud he was sure it would betray him and yet he remained unnoticed. In the shadows. It was the way he liked it. Eventually his heart regained its steady rhythm and he felt he could breathe a sigh of relief. This class was filled full of strangers. None of whom had any idea who he was or that he had caused his parents deaths. It was easy.

Or at least so he thought.

When the bell rang, Jack began to pack up his books, feeling more comfortable in himself. He could become a façade. Pretend to be normal. Sophie gave his a small smile before she rushed off to her next class. He noticed Fia and Sandy lingering by the door, obviously waiting for him. And Jack decided he was going to join them. Just as he went to leave his desk a voice stopped him.

"Oy! Frost." Jack turned around and spotted Damien waving him over. Jack groaned internally. 'What could he want now?' Jack thought.

Back at his old school, Damien was one of the cool kids. The popular ones. Damien was always a great baseball player which is what made him as popular as he was. Jack was not popular nor did he want to be. His whole life Jack was happier on the side lines with a good book than being a part of the action. Jack had very few friends because while he wasn't popular, he wasn't smart either so he didn't fall into either of those groups. Nor was he artistic. He liked to play the piano but it wasn't something he let be known at school and so he didn't fit in with the musical crowd.

Not to say that people stuck to people with the same traits as each other but it helped to have something in common. What Jack was good at was staying out of the way. Anytime confrontation came his way he managed to gracefully step out of the firing line and go somewhere less crowded. It was a skill he was actually proud of. But Jack had still managed to make a small group of friends. He was never the main speaker or 'leader' per say but, they were happy to have him and it gave him someone to talk to. Even if he was on the outs of the friend group. So Jack had never actually had a best friend. Someone who he could just trust and tell everything to.

And because of this, it made him an easy target.

Now the thing with Damien was, he didn't tend to get his hands dirty. Things would happen to people who had wronged him, yet he always had an alibi and always had a posy of around 10 people to vouch for him.

When Jack had accidentally stepped on the backs of Damien's new white Nike runners and smudge them with dirt, he shouldn't have been surprised when the next day after PE, his own shoes had been filled with muck yet Damien had been out running with Jack and hadn't left his view since he had left the changing room.

"Jack, can I ask you a favour?" Damien asked grinning at him. His grin was too teethy, Jack noticed. He didn't like it.

"You can ask but it doesn't mean it'll happen." Jack replied. Damien didn't like that comment Jack could tell based on how his smile faded ever so slightly before Damien regained his composure and let out a fake laugh.

"Look, what do you call your one you sat beside in this class? The one with the goldeny brown hair?" He asked him.

"Sophie? Why?" Jack asked confused as to where this was going.

"She's fit, isn't she?" Damien asked with a grin. "Look it's just that the two of you seemed to get along like a house on fire, and I was wondering if you would talk me up to her? Get her to maybe approach me?"

"Why would I do that? And why can't you? You have two legs that work, don't you?" Jack asked.

"Look frosty, technically speaking, I'm not exactly on the market, if you get what I mean. Izzy wouldn't be pleased if she heard I was looking for other girls. But if say one approached me and we ended up doing some stuff, I could say it wasn't my fault." He grinned back thinking he had all the kinks worked out.

"You want me to help you cheat on your girlfriend?" Jack asked incredulously. "No way! Not a chance."

Jack swung his bag over his shoulder and started to walk away but when he was nearly at the door Damien called out to him.

"Nice piece by the way. Really moving."

Jack froze. He didn't know what to do or where to look. His mouth went dry.

"What do you mean?" He stuttered out, clearly giving himself away.

"Yeah, it was really lovely." Damien said casually. "I'm sure there are plenty of people who are dying to know who wrote it and I'm sure they'll love it even more when they find out the story behind it about the sad orphan boy." Damien taunted.

"You wouldn't." Jack said, his voice quivering. Because he knew, he would.

"Try me." Damien said his voice, dangerously low. "Look Frost, it'll probably be better this way. Just do me this little favour. Isn't that what friends are for?" He asked.

"That's not friendship, that's blackmail." Jack spat back.

"Meh, you say blackmail, I say friendship. Look are you in or not?" He asked holding out his hand.

Jack felt backed into a corner where all he could do was avoid eye contact and shake his hand.

And just like that Damien was gone. Jack felt mentally exhausted. It was absolutely awful.

Jack went out into the hall and spotted Fia and Sandy waiting for him just up ahead.

"Hi!" Fia smiled as Sandy waved to him. "We wanted to wait for you after we noticed you talking to your friend." She smiled. "We just seen him pass so we knew you wouldn't be far behind."

Jack nodded. "Thanks for waiting. You didn't have to."

Sandy rolled his eyes as Fia shook her head. "Of course we waited. We didn't get a proper chance to talk to you at lunch because you ran off so quickly. We were all thinking about going out to a diner for some food after this, you in?" She asked

And Jack could only nod his head because God forbid he actually needs some friends right now.

 _Hi guys! I hoped you enjoyed that chapter, I decided it was time to stop introducing new people and actually get on with the plot. What did you's think? I appreciate all feedback from you's, I want to hear the good the bad and the ugly so feel free to leave a review with any thoughts or even any questions which I have no problem in answering. Anyway, I hope to update more regularly now but knowing me, that won't happen._


	7. Maybe This Isn't So Bad?

_Hello again! Just want to let you know that this chapter isn't very fast moving but it has a lot of important information in it that will be key in chapters to come, enjoy!_

The diner turned out to be a nice place. It was a typical diner styled to look like the 50's. There were bright colours, Elvis music and a jukebox at every table. Milkshakes were being ordered left and right and all of them were massive, nearly a course by themselves.

The group of them got a booth near the back, which was emptier than the rest which meant they could talk as loud as they wanted without being afraid of annoying other customers. They were each handed a menu by a young girl who did not look like she wanted to be there.

It was only when they were handed the menu that Jack realised the first problem. The place was expensive. He had his debit card with him but even that was running low and he meant to only keep it for emergencies. Which this was starting to look like.

"Oh, let's all get milkshakes!" Fia exclaimed when she looked at the menu. "They all look so good."

Jack glanced at the milkshake menu and gulped. They not only would do a course by themselves but they cost the same. "I think I'll stick to water." He said quietly.

"How come?" Nick asked confused. "Do you not like any on the menu? I'm sure you could just get vanilla, or something, I doubt they would mind."

"Em, they just don't sit well with me." Jack lied. "Hurts my stomach." He said playing it up.

"Oh." Fia nodded. "My cousin has an intolerance to them too. Well to milk in general. "

"But didn't you have milk in your tea at lunch?" Aster asked looking at Jack suspiciously.

"Yeah, I can em, have it in small doses, like in tea without doing much damage, but give me a lot and I feel like I'm dying." He made up on the spot. He would have to research intolerences when he got home.

" _What about dairy free milkshakes?"_ Sandy wrote in his little pad.

Jack shook his head. "Don't like the taste of substitutes. They're never the same."

"Can you have cheese?" Nick asked which Jack nodded to.

"Yeah, actually cheese doesn't really bother me too much." He said. "I think it depends on how it's cured though."

'Talk about third degree' Jack thought. He decided the best thing to do now would be to change the subject altogether. "What are you having to eat?"

Jack began to search for the cheapest thing he could have on the menu while the others also began to check.

"Might get a burger." Nick said while Sandy nodded and mouthed "Me too".

"Think I'll get a hotdog." Fia said. "But I don't know whether to get cheese and bacon on it too or not."

"I'm getting a salad." Aster said. "I heard the ones here are really nice."

"I mean, what else would a rabbit get?" Jack grinned cheekily at him.

Fia rolled her eyes. "What about you Jack, what are you going to get?"

"Well, there probably be dinner waiting at home for me,(There 100% wouldn't), so I'll probably just get chips and maybe curry sauce." He said. It was more in his price range.

"Did you not get a chance to text your mum and tell her you weren't eating at home?" Nick asked.

"Phone ran out of credit." He laughed holding up his phone.

"You should have asked one of us and we would give you our phones to text home. Won't she be wondering why you're not home?" Fia asked.

Jack shrugged. "She's used to me coming home late, she won't mind as long as I'm home before 9."

"Oh lucky, my mum always needs to know where I am." Fia said to which Sandy nodded.

"Oh Aster!" Jack exclaimed as he remembered something he had meant to bring up. "I was talking to your cousin today in English." He grinned

Aster rolled his eyes. "You don't even have to say it." He said as Nick said "You didn't tell us your cousin went to Custodes?"

Jack shrugged. "Hey, I didn't say a word." But a cheeky grin pulled at his lips.

" _Who is she?"_ Sandy scribbled in his pad questionably.

Aster let out a sigh. "Sophie O'Brien, she's my first cousin and as she says herself 'she could talk for Ireland', she obviously Irish. She likes to say all the words at once and hope for the best that a proper sentence will come out. But also, don't you dare talk nasty about her because I will kill you."

"That's sweet that you're protective about her." Fia sighed. "But if she's Irish and Australian, how does that work?"

"Well, I'm not Australian by blood technically. My dad is from Sri Lanka, when he was 3, he moved to Ireland where he met my mum who was born there. Her brother is Soph's dad. Mum and dad moved to Australia after they got married because there was a recession in Ireland, but Sophs family stayed where they were. We lived in Australia until my last year of primary school before moving here so I could join secondary school at the same time as everyone else so we could all be new together. It helped make friends." Aster explained.

"The Ferry side of my family is from Ireland." Fia explained. "But it's so far back, I probably wouldn't even show as Irish. The name is the only thing that carried on."

"I'm Russian, mum and dad moved here when I was 7, but as you may have gathered the accent hasn't completely disappeared." Nick explained with a chuckle.

" _I'm from here, not far actually. Never really left the country at all other than a few holidays."_ Sandy wrote with a shrug.

"As far as I know I'm from River Avon which isn't too far away, but I think there's some French connection from somewhere, not sure though." Jack pondered. "Was it hard making friends when being from a different country?" Jack asked looking at Aster and Nick.

"A little when I was younger and my voice was maybe a little scarier than a seven years olds should have been but people got used to me especially as my English improved and they could talk to me easier." Nick told the group.

"I never actively tried to make friends." Aster shrugged. "I don't really think that I need people to make me happy. It's nice and all to have friends but not so much that I try. I actually met most of my old friends in art class because we had to do a group project."

" _Are you still friends with them?"_

"Not really, a few of them but I'm not really close to them."

They all nodded and before anyone had a chance to answer, the waitress returned with their food.

"Won't you be hungry if that's all you eat?" Nick asked pointing at Asters salad.

"I'm a vegetarian." Aster shrugged. "Besides, this is a lot of food."

Pleased with this answer Nick dug into his food and the others closely followed.

Jacks portion certainly wasn't tiny but it wasn't a dinner. He ate slowly though so to keep pace with the rest. He hoped on their next outing it would be cheaper. A boy could only hope he guessed.

When everyone had finished, they all paid for their share of the food and left. They walked out together making small chit chat. Nick had driven there and he offered to give them a ride home but Jack decided to walk because he lived in the opposite direction to the others. They all bid each other farewell and promised to meet up at school the next day.

And just like that Jack was alone again. He shoved his hands in his pockets and hoped there would be something left to eat back at the house. He was far from full and he really didn't want to go to bed with an empty stomach. There was no worse feeling.

Still, he was glad he didn't make an excuse not to go, friends was a missing part of nearly his whole life. He always wanted a good group of friends and maybe this would be a chance for him to really hit it off with a group of people. I mean they all seemed like nice people. What more could he want.

Well maybe for the blackmailer to forget about their 'deal' but that wasn't looking likely.

Still if he did what he wanted what was the worst that could happen?

Oh if only Jack had known the roller-coaster than lay ahead of him, he possibly would avoid this ride.

 _Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed, please leave all thoughts, good and bad, in a review!  
I don't know if you have noticed but I haven't actually mentioned where this takes place as I want you to imagine whatever country you think it should happen in. Maybe where you live? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'll try and upload again soon!_


	8. A Promise Kept is as Good as Gold

_Quick note! I have changed the rating to M, because I'm not quite sure where swearing falls into the rating and there will be some in this chapter and chapters to come. I hope I'm not offending anyone with it and I mean no harm. Hope you enjoy!_

 _A Promise Kept is as Good as Gold_

The weeks flew in and Jack and the group quickly fell into a comfortable routine. They got to know each other, they joked and they frankly took the piss of each other steadily. And Jack loved it.

In every other group he had ever been in he had felt like he was on the outside always looking in, whether that was his own choice or not. But not this time. They had a rhythm going. They had even begun to learn some sign language so that talking to Sandy had become easier. So far Jack could count, say the alphabet, say 'hello' and 'how are you?' and he was quickly picking up new words. He loved it.

While they continued to do stuff outside of school together, eating out was still a slight problem for Jack as he could no longer have anything with too much milk. He was sure now if he explained the problem they would understand but he felt too awkward to actually bring it up and correct the mistake and so instead he had to be careful when picking out dishes to eat.

The school day even had a routine now. Every morning, Nick would all give them a lift to school. But Jack never allowed him to drive to his house because it was too well known as a foster home around the area.

Instead he insisted on walking to Sandy's house where Nick collected both of them before continuing on and picking up Aster and then Fia. Fia always took the longest coming out because she was always trying some new colour scheme and her parents were always trying to talk her out of it. But Fia would always win. She would always recap the fight to them in the car and by the time they reached the school they all knew the entire story. Fia's younger sisters had begun to copy her style driving her parents mad.

They would then go to the locker hall and spread out on the floor and chat. A lot of the time this was Jack's chance to do his homework for the night before as the house would get very noisy and distracting in the evening times. The group just thought he couldn't be bothered in the evening. Then they would usually have to split up and go to different classes. Jack had at least one class with each of them but he also had three alone; maths, geography and biology. The only class the five of them had together was PE which only happened once a week.

However they always met for lunch. They now had a table that they sat at every day and others never bothered to take it. They would eat small lunch and big lunch together before parting ways again for the rest of the classes.

English was fast becoming one of Jacks favourite classes as he wanted to be a writer in the future. He also loved the teacher. Others didn't. He was a very dull man but Jack had a feeling he was only putting that on. He had caught him laughing and smiling a few times in the class. Jack also found him to be very honest while grading the work. If you were bad, you were bad, he didn't sugar coat it, he just told you how it was. Jack respected that. He actually wanted to know how he was getting on.

Jack still sat beside Sophie, she had called him over the second day and he felt he had to keep it going. She still talked his ear off but Jack found it cute. She was also far funnier than he had expected. She had a dry sense of humour that took a while to pick up on. Along with that she had either a sarcastic or witty reply to everything, something else that wasn't easy to pick up on. He enjoyed her company. They didn't tend to hang out outside of English though as they both had other groups of friends but they remained friendly.

But there was one thing Jack had yet to do.

He had yet to ask Sophie if she liked Damien. He didn't know how to bring it up without it seeming weird but he was reminded off the 'deal' every time he seen Damien and he didn't like.

After English one day, Damien cornered Jack. "Go tell your friends to go ahead without you." He nearly growled at Jack. Jack sighed but did as he was told. It wasn't worth the fight.

"Why haven't you done it yet?" He asked Jack angrily. "I've been waiting."

"I'm sorry! I haven't had a chance yet. There hasn't been a good time to bring it up. I don't even know if she has a boyfriend or not." Jack babbled taking a page out of Sophie's book.

"I don't care." Damien said irritably. "Time is about to become a lot shorter for you. You have until the end of the week to ask her before your little secret becomes a very big story. Is that alright?"

Jack knew that it wasn't a question so he sighed and nodded. "Good boy." He said before changing his tone to a friendlier one. "That's not so hard, is it?"

They walked out of the room together and Jack wanted nothing more but to bolt.

"Yo, Pitch!" One of the boys outside yelled and Damien grinned over at them and waved back.

"Pitch?" Jack asked confused.

"Yeah, in baseball, I'm the pitcher, so that's the nickname they gave me." He grinned before smacking Jacks arm. "Don't forget, the end of the week." He said before running off to join his friends while Jack sighed and made his way to maths.

Jack decided to bite the bullet. It would be the quickest and easiest way to sort out this whole fiasco.

That day he noticed Sophie walking home by herself. Jack made up and excuse to the rest of them as to why he could get a ride home before jogging to catch up with her. "Hey Soph?" He called.

She slowed down to let him catch up. "Hey." She grinned. "What's up? Do you live this way too?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I live in River Avon." He said.

"Oh, I live near enough there. We can walk together." She grinned.

After making some light conversation Jack decided it was time to just get it over and done with.

"Hey, I have a really strange question for you." Jack said stopping so that he could face her. "I know we haven't really known each other that long and all and it's not really my place to ask but, look I just have to come out and say it, you see the thing is…"

Jack was caught completely and utterly off guard when she kissed him. The kiss was soft and gentle and she smelled like chocolate but it didn't feel right. There was something that didn't sit well with Jack but he just kissed her back.

When they pulled away Sophie laughed. "Was that weird for you too?" She asked and Jack sighed in relief. "I thought I was the only one that noticed that. Why did you kiss me?"

"It was like kissing my cousin." She laughed before shrugging. "The way you were talking I just kind of figured that's where it was headed and well I didn't want to be caught off guard so I decided to take matters into my own hands. Wrongly by the looks of it." She giggled. "You are a good kisser though." She winked.

"Same to you." Jack chuckled. "No I wasn't going to kiss you. It's just a friend of mine is sort of interested in you and he asked me to ask if you noticed him? Damien Tames? Pitcher in the baseball team? Look he asked me to ask and I just thought I would even though it's kind of weird."

"Oh." Sophie pondered. "I don't know if I know him. I'll keep an eye out though. Thanks Jack, you're a good friend. To me and to him." She smiled.

'Yeah right, if only you knew the whole story.' Jack thought bitterly. But instead he grinned. "Okay, I'm glad you took that well." He laughed.

They fell into easy chatter the rest of the way home and they didn't even notice that there was someone following them.

After leaving Sophie at her house, Jack shoved his hands in his pockets before continuing on the rest of the journey home.

He was nearly there when a powerful punch winded his lungs causing him to topple over, going down hard on his ankle and landing heavily on the pavement below.

"You lying little bastard!" Jack heard being hissed at him before being thumped again, and again, and again…


	9. Blue, Black and Red All Over

Blue, Black and Red All Over

Jack sharply inhaled wincing as his chest ached at the small action. His body was throbbing. He felt like he had just been hit by a car… or beat up by a lunatic.

"Did you like that Frosty?" A voice taunted out. Jack knew he knew it but he was in too much pain to wonder too much as to who it was.

"I said, did you like it?" The voiced roared before he punched Jack in the chest again. Despite being badly winded Jack managed to look up.

Damien. Of course. Who else would it have been?

"Answer me Frost!" He exclaimed kicking him. In return Jack turned his head and spat on Damien's shoes. He was disturbed to see some blood through it.

Actually, it seemed to affect Damien too because as Jack spat, he raised his fist to punch him but after seeing the blood he faltered, seemingly unsure as to what to do.

Instead he went down to his hunkers, staring down at Jack.

"What was that all about?" Damien asked Jack who shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked hoarsely, his chest aching with each breath.

"I mean the whole porno you had me watching with Sophie? What the actual fuck man? What happened to you helping me out?" Damien hissed.

Jack groaned rolling over and holding his side. He really wanted to just lie down and pass out but god only knows what would happen to him then.

"She kissed me." He faintly said. "She thought I fancied her so she kissed me. We both agreed it was like kissing a sibling. I told her about you then, she said she would keep an eye out for you." Jack wheezed before starting to cough. He was repulsed to see more blood.

Damien was put off. He wasn't sure if he believed Jack but he didn't want to punish him further without proof. "She said that?" Damien asked. "Hm, what if that's a lie? Then what?"

He looked down at Jack but Jack was done talking. He closed his eyes and waited for everything to stop spinning.

Damien realised that he wasn't getting anything else out of Jack and that there was no point trying.

"Fine, but she better approach me, or at least notice me or you're going to get something three times as bad as this." Damien said before stalking off.

Finally, silence. Jack opened his eyes relieved to see the spinning had subsided slightly and he could look ahead of him with less nausea that before.

But now he faced a worse challenge.

Getting up and walking home. He wasn't sure if he even had the will power to do it but he knew he could stay out here all night. It was a quiet road and he also didn't want anyone to see him like this.

There was a fence at the side of the pavement. He dragged himself over and slowly pulled himself into a standing position. While he felt sick and he was clinging to the fence, he still felt proud of himself. Until he tried to take a step and his ankle gave out. He vaguely remembered falling onto it but it was making itself known now for sure. Jack took a deep breath. He could see houses, he wasn't that far away from home. He would just have to take his time.

Using the fence as a crutch, Jack began to limp down the road. It was hard work and he had to stop for rests often but he still was moving. He had broken out into a sweat, something that embarrassed him as it wasn't warm and he wasn't doing strenuous work, but he was exhausted.

Jack was so preoccupied by his struggle that he didn't notice someone else on the pavement. Jack was nearly on top of him when he realised who it was.

There Sandy was, two wide eyes staring at Jack as he fumbled to get his pen and paper to try and communicate. Jack noticed the leash around his wrist and the golden lab sitting patiently for his owner to continue their walk.

Of course. Sandy lived so close to Jack and Jack knew he walked his dog every single day after finishing his dinner.

"Sandy wait!" Jack said as Sandy scribbled question after question down.

" _What happened? Are you okay? Do you need help? ..."_ Jack shook his head.

"I'm fine." He said which received an unbelieving glance. "Seriously! I just fell, and messed my face and ankle up a little." Jack lied. He wasn't even sure what his face looked like but based on Sandy's he did not think it looked good.

Jack continued to try and convince Sandy that he was fine coming up with a story about him tripping and rolling down a hill. Not his best lie but it was the best he could do under the circumstances. And then there was the matter of asking him to keep it from the others.

"Please Sandy, don't tell them. I'm so humiliated. I know Aster and Nick will just make fun of me, please just don't tell them." Jack pleaded. It took some time but eventually Sandy agreed to keep it between them but not before insisting to help Jack home.

Jack tried his best to disagree but even he had to admit that it would take him near enough an hour to walk the short distance home. But then there was the issue of him living in the foster home.

" _Where do you live?"_ Sandy signed. "Do you know the foster home on River Avon?" Jack asked

Sandy nodded. "Well, I live next door to it." Jack lied. His neighbour was on holiday and he knew there was a gate in her back garden that went through to the foster homes garden.

And so they set off. Jack was mortified by how much he needed to lean on Sandy to be able to walk at a halfway good speed but Sandy didn't mind. The dog however pulled at the leash every chance he got, desperate to get away running. Eventually they arrived at his neighbours house.

Jack thanked Sandy for his help, asked him again to promise never to mention the incident and they both said bye. Jack went around the back of the house where he waited until Sandy was out of side before darting (Or should I say hobbling) through the gate into his own garden.

Although even though Sandy was out of Jacks sight, Jack wasn't out of Sandy's and sad eyes watched as he began to piece together bits of the puzzle that was Jack Frost.

When Jack arrived into the house, he snuck up to the bathroom and took a look at himself in the mirror. It was not a good sight.

His face got off lightly with only a bloody nose and a few small bruises scattered across his cheek bone. Once the blood was cleaned up it was basically unnoticeable. It was when he lifted his shirt that the problems began. He let out a low whistle as he took in his bruised and bloodied stomach and chest. It was hard to find any of his white skin through the mixture of purple and yellow bruises that lined his chest, with scratches joining in the ranks showing a deep red.

It was disgusting. His legs weren't as bad but they were still full of scratches. His ankle was horrible looking, it was twice the size of the other and it was starting to bruise. It was definitely sprained, if not broken. Lovely, just what he needed.

But he decided that he didn't care anymore. He cleaned up as much of it as he could before just going to bed. He could deal with the rest in the morning.

 _That is the end of the other chapter! Hope you enjoyed reading and please leave a review with your thoughts!_


	10. All Alone! Whether you like it or not

_All alone, whether you like it or not, alone is something you'll be quite a lot._

Sleep evaded Jack for hours on end. No position was comfortable. His whole body ached as he tossed and turned, quietly so not to wake Conor. He didn't want to draw attention to himself. His head was spinning and all he wanted was the room to stay in the one place. He did not know how he was meant to deal with school in the morning.

It was sometime near 4am that Jacks eyes finally shut due to exhaustion. There was no other word to describe it. Funnily enough, it was the closest Jack had gotten to a peaceful sleep in months.

He slept so heavily that he didn't even wake to his alarm in the morning and instead it was a flying pillow aimed at his head that woke him.

"Turn that thing off!" Conor groaned from his bed.

For a second Jack had forgotten the events of the previous day and so he jumped up quickly before a tearing feeling in his stomach took his breath away. It was excruciatingly sore. Jack couldn't stop himself from releasing a small groan of agony that Conor took for a tired groan.

Jack turned off his alarm before lying back in the bed, his breathing heavy and coarse. He was not in a good way.

That meant he had two options. Get up and pretend he was feeling fine for a full day or pull a sickie.  
He knew which option he preferred.

Jack looked around for the warmest thing in the bedroom. The radiator was on.

"Get Julia." Jack croaked in the weakest voice he could muster up.

"Huh?" Conor replied still half asleep.

"Get Julia, before I throw up all over your shoes." Jack said faking a burp attempting to make it sound like a gag.

That did the trick. Conor got out of bed as quick as humanly possible. Jack took all his strength to sit up in the bed and lay his head against the radiator. He figured it would take Julia a minute or two to put down whatever child she was nursing and another minute or two to get up here. Still he didn't have a lot of time. Jack grabbed some water and sprinkled it over his face to appear sweaty. He knew he already had the pale skin side of things covered. Especially after yesterday. And he was sure the 3 and a halfish hours of sleep he got could speak for itself.

Jack kept his head on the radiator until he heard someone on the stairs. He lay back in the bed and began to fake shiver. He didn't even really need to fake with the way he was actually feeling.

"Jack?" Julia's soft voice called. "Conor said you're not feeling great?"

"I feel like I'm going to throw up." Jack replied in the same tired voice.

Julia approached him placing her hand on his forehead. "Jack, you're burning up!" She exclaimed. "You poor thing. You look absolutely awful. Tell me how you feel."

"My throat feels raw and my stomach is churning and I don't want to sit up because I think I'll just end up throwing up." Jack explained slowly before starting to cough. "Can you get me a bucket please?"

Julia ran off to do so when Jack realised he did actually feel sick. Julia returned with the bucket just in time for Jack to actually start gagging into it. He hadn't eaten much the day before so it was mostly bile that came up. Afterwards the shivering was real and he didn't think Julia needed much more convincing. "I'll call the school, you try and get some sleep okay? I'll leave a clean bucket here."

Jack didn't even bother replying. He just closed his eyes. He didn't feel like acknowledging anything to be honest.

The next thing Jack noticed was his phone buzzing. His friends had obviously noticed his absence. He pondered answering them for a second before deciding that that was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He could lie later.

Jack must have fallen asleep again after that because he didn't remember Julia entering the room but she put a cool rag on his forehead.

"I'm going to make some soup, okay?" She asked him and all he could do was nod.

He waited for her to leave but when he opened his eyes she was still staring down at him concerned.

"Where did you get those bruises?" She asked worriedly.

"Got tackled in PE yesterday." Jack said shortly hoping he wouldn't have to go into any more detail.

Julia frowned but she left the room after another concerned glance at Jack.

It was around midday the next time Jack woke and he no longer felt sick thankfully. His body still ached but he felt a lot better than this morning. He was pretty sure his ribs where fractured though, because his chest ached with every breath.

He decided to check his phone because he felt like the room had finally stopped spinning.

 _3 missed calls and 7 unread messages_

Fia, Aster and Nick had all tried to call him. None left voice messages though. He had two texts from Fia going from " _Where are you?"_ to _"Please tell us that you're alright"_ Aster, Nick and Sandy had all sent him a text saying something along the same lines.

Sophie had sent him a text saying _"Please tell me you aren't skipping school because of how awkward yesterday was."_ Which got a laugh out of him.

It was the last text that confused and angered him the most.

" _Please don't tell me you're dying in a hole somewhere. If you're trying to mess with me, stop fucking  
around- D" _

Of course Damien had to text. He couldn't just let Jack have the day off in peace.

Jack quickly sent a text to his friends just saying. " _Stomach bug, should be alright by tomorrow"_

To Sophie he just said. " _Not actually use that to get out of tomorrow lol, I'm just sick today haha, nothing to do with you and the awkwardness of yesterday."_

But he decided Damien didn't deserve a reply. Let him thing Jack was dead somewhere. He deserved it.

He didn't know what to do then though. He decided to watch Netflix but he couldn't for the life of him decide of a show or a film that took his fancy. He wanted to read but he had no books at arm's reach.

He decided to walk around the house to see if he could practice the art of walking like a human. His body felt like it was in bits. His arms were heavy and until he attempted to stand, he had forgotten about his dodgy ankle, so that was a pleasant surprise. But he manged to pull himself up and walk to the mirror to examine himself.

He looked like hell. His face was paler than normal and the dark circles under his eyes had blended into his bruises. Because of his white face, they jumped out at you far more than before which was just amazing.

When he lifted his top he felt sick. Something was definitely broken because you didn't get colours like that from being healthy. His ankle was twice the size it normally was but he didn't think it was broken. It was just sprained, he decided, based on the fact he could still put some weight on it.

And then Jack did one of those things that we all know is a bad idea but we all have the urge to do. He poked his ribs. And just like that, the bile had made a reappearance.

He was glad however to know that the throwing up was from pain and not due to something worse happening inside. Even though he knew that was a strange thing to be glad about.

He limped back into bed deciding he had walked enough for one day.

Julia returned with soup later which Jack sipped at and along with some dry toast it helped to settle his stomach.

"What did your mum do when you were sick?" Julia asked Jack from the foot of his bed while he ate.

"Flat 7up." He laughed. "That and ginger ale. If they couldn't cure you then you were a goner." He said nibbling on a bit of crust. "I used to make her take the day off work when I was younger because I couldn't stand to be alone when I was sick. And she kept doing it even when I was old enough to not need her as much when I was sick, she still would take the day off and keep me company. And if I was feeling better in the evening, we used to curl up in bed and have melted ice cream and dad would come home from work he would always join us. Helped me forget I was sick." Jack said with a sad smile.

He remembered how she would stroke his hair and just talk about nothing until he fell asleep. She always made him feel like he was the only person in the world.

And Jack realised that for the rest of his life, every time he got sick, he would be on his own. No more flat 7up and ice cream in bed. No more Dad pretending to gag at the soupy ice cream. He could be surrounded by people. But he would still be alone. And that thought alone broke his heart.

He avoided eye contact with Julia and finished his food and she headed off back downstairs again and left Jack completely and utter alone.

(That's another chapter done! Hope you enjoyed and let me know your opinions on it! Reviews are actually one of my favourite things ever and I absolutely adore and cherish all the ones I have received so far so please feel free to let me know what you think!)


	11. Back to School He Goes

Jack's opened slowly. He felts groggy as he wiped the sleep from the corner of his eyes. The sand man had been, he smirked to himself. He was still sore but instead of the fire he had previously felt he was instead just aching. He glanced at his ankle, pleased to see the swelling had gone down although it was still tender when moved.

He sighed. He could do this. The nausea had left and was instead replaced with anger. He was angry and he was upset with himself for letting Damien beat him down like that. It was not okay.

Jack glanced at the time. He had half an hour before his alarm rang for school. Half an hour. Plenty of time. He could make himself look less like a corpse in that time he was sure.

Jack couldn't even remember falling asleep. It was early enough in the day though. At least now he felt more human. He could deal with it today he decided.

Quietly so not to wake Conor (Who he didn't hear coming in) Jack snuck from the room, limping due to his ankle. He jumped in the shower just to dry and get the bad look off of himself, get the dirt from his hair. Jack grimaced to see that there was some blood through it too but not a lot thankfully.

When he got out of the shower he glanced in the mirror, grimacing slightly. He'd seen better days but it was clear his injuries were healing. His face was his top priority at the moment though as it was the main place people would see, especially his friends. He was glad to see that the bruising was mostly yellow, excluding his nose which had a dark bruise covering the side of it. Other than that though he thought he would be fine, it blended into his skin tone mostly. The nose however, how was he to explain that? He couldn't even say he fell because of the angle of the bruise, the rest of his face would be messed up.

That was when he spotted it.

A makeup bag!

It must have been Lucy's. Jack quickly googled how to hide a bruise with makeup and he was directed to an article. Jack needed something red to cancel the bruise and then something in his skin tone to cover the red. That was doable, Lucy always wore red lipstick so that was a definite. He quickly found it and smeared it across his face, the lipstick bending slightly because Jack didn't realise how soft it would be. YSL? It was probably a cheap enough brand, he was sure it would be fine.

" _Now blend"_ The article instructed. Blend? Was that not what you did when you were like baking? Blend the ingredients? Jack didn't really know. He started to smear it across the bruise until it wasn't as thick.

That's when he ran into a problem. He was no expert but even he could see that he was considerably paler than Lucy. None of the stuff she had would be pale enough. And he didn't want to look like he was wearing makeup either. What could he do? He pondered.

Then he spotted some talcum powder. Which was white. Girls usually used powder with makeup didn't they? Worth a shot he decided. He put some conceal (?) On his arm and mixed some of the powder through it. It made it paler but now it was all gloopy. It would have to do he decided rubbing it on his face and neck. That's what the article said anyway.

Jack looked in the mirror. He had to admit, it didn't look half bad. What with him being part albino and all that, he didn't tend to have any freckles or marks on his face so he didn't really look like he was covering anything up. And the bruise was gone!

He may have gone slightly paler than needed but he was happy with the result. He quickly through the stuff back in the bag before going back to the room to finish getting ready. His hair was sopping wet but he didn't really care. He felt better, and his limp wasn't even that noticeable as long as he didn't walk too fast. Easy.

His school were trying to get a uniform taken in, but they were doing it gradually. That just meant that, Jack had to wear a white shirt, and proper trousers but he could wear whatever else he wanted along with it. They planned to have a uniform completely by the next year and Jack actually would prefer that because he really hated having to think in the morning as to what to wear.

Thankfully enough he had two shirts, the one he had worn during his 'fight' was filthy but the other was completely clean and so he threw on his clothes before heading down to the kitchen.

He was ravenous. He quickly grabbed a bowl of cereal and downed it before grabbing another. Soon after Julia came down to start getting the littles ready for the day. She was carrying the youngest in the house, Sam, who gave Jack a toothy smile when he spotted him sticking his hands out for him.

Jack laughed at him taking him from Julia for a few minutes. He liked playing with kids. They were funny and they didn't really care who was with them as long as they were nice. Jack would often help out whenever Julia needed to go somewhere and couldn't take the kids.

"You're up early for the first time possibly ever." Julia observed squinting at Jack. "You up for school today? You still look pale."

"I feel completely better." Jack grinned bouncing Sam. "I think I'll go mad if I have to spend another day in bed."

"I'm glad, at least you seem perkier. But if you feel sick at school just call me okay?" She asked and Jack nodded.

He got Sam settled in his chair before he grabbed his bag and headed out for college. His ribs ached slightly from carrying the child but he would survive. He knew he needed to walk slowly but he didn't want to be late for North and make them think he was sick again and have to end up walking the whole way.

His ankle twinged uncomfortably and he wished he had a crutch or something to help support his ankle. He then spotted a stick about crutch height, on the grass under a tree. Must have fallen. It looked like a staff or something. Jack shrugged, it would work.

He picked up the 'staff' and used it as support for his ankle. It helped a lot and he found himself being able to walk at a nearly normal speed. As he neared Sandy's house he found a place to throw the staff in case he needed it on the walk home.

He was early so Sandy was still in his house. Jack decided because it was a nice day to just sit on the footpath and take in the sunlight. It felt nice, especially because he knew autumn would soon be over and it would get cold. Although to be honest, Jack loved cold weather and just winter in general.

Before long he saw North's Jeep coming in one direction and Sandy coming up his lane. Jack gave Sandy a lazy wave, not feeling like getting up from the warm patch.

Sandy quickly started signing question after question. Jack just laughed and as he dragged himself into a standing position. "I'll tell you all together." He told Sandy as the jeep came to stop beside them. He knew the others would have questions too so to save his breath he might as well wait ten seconds.

He jumped in the car and gave a quick hello before they started piling in

"Where were you?"  
"What happened?"  
"Are you okay?"  
"You look pale."

Jack just laughed again. "I'm fine, I'm fine, I just had one of those 24 hour stomach bugs, I woke up yesterday feeling awful so I mostly slept all day, but I'm fine now." He grinned at their concern.

They all expressed their relief and conversations started.

"Who's Damien?" Aster asked glancing at Jack whose face immediately darkened which he hoped no one would notice. "Just a boy from my old school." Jack shrugged. "Why?"

"He was worried about you. Asked if we knew what had happened to you." North told him.

Jack shrugged. "Don't know why he cares." Jack muttered under his breath. Sandy gave him an odd look.

"Ready for PE?" Tooth asked seen as it was the only class they all had. First thing.

Jack groaned. He completely forgot he had PE. This was when shit really would hit the fan. Yay.

(Hey! This chapter was originally meant to be far longer and I had a plan but then I had a while free so I wrote out what I could so I'm just going to post this as it is to give you something until I finish my exams and then I'll be able to write properly! Promise! Hope you enjoyed anyway, however uneventful it was!)


	12. Hit me with your best shot

_Hit me with your best shot_

Jack sighed, a knot forming in his stomach the nearer they got to the school. Who's sick idea was it to do P.E? He couldn't take it.

Everyone in the car chatted away the entire journey, playing off Jacks silence to just be something to do with his 'illness' They all had to admit that he was a great deal paler today than he had been other days which they weren't pleased to see because the boy was already pale as it was.

Although none of the others had openly discussed it with each other, they all knew that they need to keep an eye on him today.

"Should you be doing P.E after being sick?" Aster asked Jack. Jack jumped having been in a world of his own staring out the window.

"I mean, you were ill yesterday, maybe you should take a break today for a while at least, you don't want to bring on more sickness." Aster continued.

"I'll be fine." Jack shrugged, trying to keep the miserable tone out of his voice. "Besides, you know coach only accepts letters from parents as an excuse for not doing P.E, and I don't have any." Jack said before realising what it sounded like. "Letters! I don't have a letter with me." He stuttered out, not seeing the sad glance that Sandy shot him.

They all nodded, remembering coaches rules according to P.E. "But you're so pale today, she'll have to see you don't look 100%." Fia argued. "We could pretend we're worried or something." She said knowing full well that there would be very little pretending needed.

"Fia, I'm basically an albino, white skin, white hair, she won't even be able to see that I look slightly paler than normal, it's a wonder you even noticed, anyway she knows were friends and she will 100% see through it. Don't worry about it, I'll take it easy." He said with an airy laugh that he did not mean one bit.

The rest decided to leave it at that but they weren't happy with the outcome of the conversation.

They returned to their chat and Jack returned to looking out the window and thinking of how this was going to play out, but he knew he would rather do P.E than get Julia to sign a letter making it very clear that they didn't share the same last name and that they weren't related to one another. Nope P.E was definitely better.

With a heavy heart Jack noticed them pulling up to the school and suppressed a groan that rose in his throat. He had to do this.

And so, in they went to their spot in the morning and the knot grew in Jacks stomach as the clock ticked closer to nine o clock and he knew time to face the music was nearing.

He wondered briefley if he could fake his own death in the three minutes he had left and run off and start a new life before deciding that might be a bit over the top.

Unless...

No, it wouldn't work, he would have needed more time.

And just like that the bell rang and the knot overcame him. He actually thought he might puke, and that might be a good thing. Coach would hardly make him do P.E when he stank of vomit.

On he went to the gym, his heart in his mouth. He knew he would actually throw up if they had to do a bleep test because no way in heaven or hell would he survive that.

The boys seperated from Fia at the changing rooms as they always did when another problem struck Jack. People would see him with his shirt off and it was not a pretty sight.

His chest was like a canvass that someone had sat and thrown yellow and blue paint at, with bruises of different variety's coating him from top to bottom. No one could see that. He would be able to take the embarrassment.

But it would be even weirder if he hid to get changed because no one ever did that.

Then as he entered the room, he spotted a corner where he knew no one would see his front, if he changed facing the walls. He wondered what his back looked like but he knew it had to be a hell of a lot better than his chest so he decided it would have to do.

It's not that his class liked to watched each other change but there weren't actual changing rooms in the gym. It was just a big room and some cubicles with showers in it. There was space to leave their bags but that was it.

At the start they would all change in the showers but it soon began knowledge that the showers were easily turned on and there was nothing like getting soaked while changing into either your sports gear of you uniform.

And so, there Jack was, bricking it as he loosened his tie facing away from everyone else. If he had thought he would have put his t-shirt on underneath his shirt but as usual, he wasn't thinking straight.

He changed quickly, hoping not to draw any attention to himself. His friends shot each other concerned looks at the silence Jack was showing but they just had to hope he would be fine.

Okay, he was changed. The was one crisis adverted and just left the biggest challenge left to finish. The actual exercise. His ankle was still, basically out of action for everything other than walking (slowly at that). So he knew that unless it was table tennis, he was royally screwed.

He waited for his friends, attempting to chat in order to calm his nerves, it sort of worked but sorted didn't at the same time. He was still extremely nervous but he just couldn't remember what he was nervous about. Until he stopped talking and it hit him again.

They walked out to the hall and seen Fia waiting for them. There was no CD player in sight so hopefully that meant no bleep test.

They waited for a few minutes until the class filtered in and then the coach began to speak. "Dodgeball." She announced. "You'll be in two teams. I'll pick them out."

Dodge ball. Jack could do dodge ball. It would be fine. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice that he was put into a different team from his friends. But it didn't matter. He'd be fine by himself. In dodge ball he could look like he was doing something whilst actually not doing anything.

The game began and Jack was actually enjoying himself a it was only right that things would go south for him because that was the way it went. Every time he was happy, something bad would happen.

It was an accident, he knew that. Didn't mean he liked it

So basically a ball rolled by his feet and so he picked it up. Then he noticed that Sandy wasn't looking at him and so he threw the ball hitting Sandy. And naturally Sandy was out of the game. Sandy gave him a pretend look of disgust while Jack stuck out his tongue at him playfully.

And Jacks guard was down. Which Aster noticed. So Aster grabbed the ball nearest him and chucked it at Jack. Now, Aster was strong and he was tall, two things Jack was not. And that was even before Jack had gotten injured.

Now imagine having possible broken ribs and being hit with force right into the said possible broken ribs. It was not pleasant.

Now at the same time, someone else of his team slid to the side to avoid another ball that was after being thrown. Right into Jack.

Now he was nearly doubled over with the ball so his balanced wasn't great, and then with being shoved into, his bad ankle just couldn't take it and it went and Jack stumbled and his the floor with a thud.

The wind had been knocked out him and all he could feel was pain coming from his foot and side whilst struggling to take in a breath.

He knew to avoid being caught he needed to get up. To make it look like a stupid mistake that others could all laugh about but he couldn't figure out what parts of his body he had to use to get up.

Someone was asking him something but he couldn't understand the question. All he could hear was noise and then Jack. Something something something, Jack.

He groaned lowly but he was slowly starting to understand some of the noise. "...Ankle shouldn't bend that way….."

"….get….nurse?"

"Jack?"

Jack knew that last voice. It was coaches. "You okay?" Concern eminent in her voice.

"Fine." Jack spluttered out trying to keep his pain balanced. "Just a bit winded." He breathed before attempting to sit up but someone quickly pushed him back down.

"Not a good idea, stay where you are, the nurse is on her way." Coach said.

Before Jack knew there was someone on either side of his helping him up to take him over to the bench. One of which was Aster.

"Jack I am so sorry." Aster said but Jack just shook his head. "S'fine, didn't mean it."

"I didn't mean to hit you hard I swear." Aster continued but Jack had stopped listening. Because the nurse was coming and he was sure someone would mention getting hit in the chest. He sighed. He was 100% getting caught out.

Crap.


	13. You sit on a throne of lies

_You sit on a throne of lies_

The next thing Jack knew, he was half hobbling, half being lifted to the nurse. He tried to protest saying that he didn't actually need to go to the nurse and that he could walk by himself but the coach took one look at him and said. "Not on that ankle you can't."

Aster continued to apologise to him but at this rate, Jack was hardly listening. Breathing was tough that much he knew. Talking would 100% percent be tougher.

He was helped onto the bed thing that was always in medical places but he couldn't be bothered actually figuring out the name of it.

"What happened?" The nurse asked as he entered the room, taking in the sight of the pale teen with the wonky ankle.

"It was an accident, we were playing dodge ball and I hit Jack with the ball at the same time someone fell into him, he went down badly onto his ankle." Aster explained, worry coating his voice. "I didn't mean to hurt him."

The nurse knelt down and began to remove Jacks shoe. Jack hissed in pain as his ankle was moved around. It was agony.

The nurse inhaled sharply taking in the sight of the bruised ankle. "Mr Frost, has this ankle been damaged before or is it just from the incident that took place today?"

"Just today." Jack said trying not to wince as the nurse turned his ankle from side to side.

"It appears there's some muscle damage, but I can't be sure. There seems to be a tear. I don't think it's broken but there is still a chance. Also I don't like the amount of bruising that has developed in such a short time frame. It's usually a sign that something isn't right. We may need to take you to the hospital."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when Jack began shaking his head.

"No hospital, it's honestly not even that painful, I'll be fine." He said stubbornly.

The nurse shot Jack a look. "If it is broken or badly torn and you don't get it set, you could end up with a permanent limp, you do realise that?" The nurse asked.

Jack bit his lip but didn't answer him. No way was he going to a hospital.

Realising that he wasn't going to get a response the nurse continued with the examination. "Did you hit you head at all?" He asked and Jack tried to think back. His head was sore but he didn't recall hitting it so he shook his head, regretting it immediately when his vision swam.

"He banged it a little when he fell." Aster answered for Jack. "It didn't seem too bad but he still hit it."

The nurse began to examine Jacks head, shining a torch over and back and looking into his eyes. "You seem to be slightly concussed but it doesn't seem like a fresh concussion, it's almost like you're recovering from a past one. Have you concussed yourself as of late?" The nurse asked.

"Not that I know of." Jack answered. "I was ill yesterday though, unless that has anything to do with it."

"Ill? What sort of illness?" The nurse asked.

"Stomach bug, I threw up a few times but that's all really." The nurse frowned slightly. "The ball hit you in the stomach, didn't it?"

Jack nodded.

"Can you raise your shirt for me please?" The nurse asked writing a not down.

the "I'd rather not." Jack said glancing slightly at the boy that helped him in and Aster. The nurse noticed this look. and asked them both to leave.

"Now Mr,Frost, could raise your shirt for me please."

Jack hesitated but he knew he would have to do it at some stage so he might as well do it.

The nurses eyes widened as he took in the patch work of bruises that covered the boys chest. "These aren't all from today are they?" The nurse asked, worry eminent in his voice. "Did something else happen? Did someone do this to you?" He asked trying to get an answer from the boy whilst keeping his voice level, not easy to do to be fair.

"It's nothing, I bruise easy." Jack said quickly trying to make it seem normal. "Really it'll be fine."

"Are you having any trouble breathing?" The nurse asked examining the area, deciding that he would deal with the injury first and how it came about second. But he would find out who did it.

"Um, a little? But like I'm fine, honestly." Jack said

The nurse frowned at this before his face darked at something he discovered whilst examining Jack.

"You need to go to the hospital." The nurse said as Jack frowned at him.

"What? No, I can't-" Jack cut himself off with a wince of pain as he tried to sit up straight. "I'm fine, really." He said breathlessly when the pain finally subsided.

"I think you may have broken a rib, if you have there is a chance that it could impale your lungs, causing them to fill with liquid. The first sign that this has happened is usually shortness of breath, have you felt any shortness of breath?" He asked Jack who didn't answer him

"Do you have a parent or someone we can call to accompany you to the hospital?" He asked.

Jack's mind raced trying to think of what he could say. Obviously he couldn't say his parents. But how could he explain Julia? But they probably wouldn't allow him to go alone.

"My aunt, Julia." He said. "She'll probably be able to come with me. Mum and dad are at work and they don't have their phones on while they work." Jack sighed, guilt building in him at his lie.

The nurse nodded. "Give me her number and I'll call her after I call an ambulance."

Jack sighed and nodded again before he gave a start.

"Ambulance?!"


	14. What to do when your lies start unfoldin

_What to do when your lies start unfolding_

As it turns out, getting an ambulance wasn't fun, surprisingly enough. Jack was pretty certain he wasn't going to die but apparently his lack of a medical degree was against him.

I mean, his ribs were aching but he would know if it were broken, wouldn't he? It was the sort of thing he assumed he would know about. And yeah his ankle was in excruciating pain but obviously it was, it was in tatters and there wasn't a lot a hospital could do except put a name on it.

But the nurse was freaked out. Jack could see that. He was worried so Jack decided to avoid eye contact with him because he hated being pitied. But that didn't go too well either because he closed his eyes and the nurse shook him out of it, afraid he was going to fall asleep or something along those lines. Which he would have loved to have done but he knew better that to sleep.

The nurse called Julia, explaining that Jack's injuries were 'concerning' and that she should meet them at Cartally General Hospital. Jack couldn't hear Julia's side of things but he knew she mentioned him being sick yesterday because the nurse asked about what his temperature was the night before.

And then he sat and waited for the ambulance. It was boring because every time Jack would move or re-position himself, he would be shot a glare which clearly said 'Don't you even think about moving'

And those nurse beds were not comfortable. He wondered if the hospital beds would be any better but he shook his head. No, he wouldn't be there long enough to see if they were comfortable. It would be a flying visit. Just staying long enough for them to give him the all clear. That would be all.

Finally the ambulance arrived. Jack cringed when he heard the sirens not because it hurt but because he knew everyone in the entire school would hear it and ask questions. I mean its not everyday someone gets taken to hospital.

Jack was humiliated, especially when the nurse told the paramedics about the cringe saying he must be sound sensitive. Jack couldn't even bare to actually tell them the truth in the end. He just went along with it.

Thankfully enough they took him out the side door so no one would see him. I mean, that wasn't their reason for doing it but it worked for Jack, he wasn't going to argue with them

He wondered what Julia would say when she seen the shape of him. It wasn't a pretty sight he would sure.

The paramedics didn't really talk to Jack, they asked him a few questions at the start but after that, they just seemed to talk between themselves leaving Jack to his own thoughts.

He felt embarrased by the whole situation and he knew he couldn't actually tell anyone how his injuries had started out. It just wouldn't work. Because if Damien knew that he had told, well lets just say that Jack would be lucky if he made it to an ambulance.

He knew all this and yet he knew that he had to say something. This wasn't just going to be forgotten. They weren't going to bandage his foot and send him on his merry way, no questions asked.

No, there were going to be questions, lots of them. He would be lucky if the police weren't involved. Because he knew what the situation looked like.

A child, in foster care, ending up with strange injuries and refusing to admit where they came from.

No, Jack knew exactly how it would play out. It would be an investigation into Julia and Max. All the children would be more than likely moved out during this time. It wouldn't just be his life he'd be upturning but everyone's.

Jack was honestly at a loss. He couldn't tell the truth but he couldn't lie really either. It would have to be believable, and people would know that he didn't get as injured as he did while playing dodge ball. There had to have been something else.

But what could he actually do? Maybe if he stayed quiet they'd leave him alone for long enough to figure something out.

Or maybe, they'd take his silence to mean something else entirely and rush him off for some sort of emergency surgery.

Jack was interrupted from his thoughts by a paramedic securing a oxygen mask to his face. Jack shot him a confused look as he honestly did not know why it was needed.

Seeing this look the paramedic explained. "Just in case there is liquid in your lungs, this should take some of the stress off of them, at least for a while."

Jack shrugged and nodded. At this rate, there was no point arguing. It would be easier to just sit there and let them do their jobs. Also, he had to admit that while the mask irritated him, it did make breathing easier. Which he supposed that was what it was there for.

It didn't take long to reach the hospital, and as they went in the door, Jack prayed he wouldn't see anyone he knew.

They directed him to a free bed, which was actually comfier than the bed in the nurses office, thankfully. Jack considered sleeping but he knew that if he really was concussed, it wouldn't be the best shout, so he sat and just looked around him. He wondered what was wrong with the people around them but knew better than to stare at anyone.

A doctor came over to him a while after that and checked to see if he was concussed. He was told he was slightly concussed but that sleep would not worsen it. He was then informed that he would be taken for an x-ray for both his ankle and his ribs.

After the doctor left, Jack decided that it would do no harm to take a nap, maybe an amazing idea would come to him whilst he slept.

That was his last thought until he woke up to the bed being moved into the radiology department. Jack looked around him groggily and through tired eyes he thought he could see some police men standing against a wall, he wondered if there had been a murder or a mugging or something. Then again he was sure the police were in hospitals every other minute.

They were the ones that confirmed deaths to families. He knew that from personal experience. It wasn't something he needed confirmation on but yet he got it.

He remembered it clear as day.

 _The snow had frozen to his eyelids, merging with the tears. His face felt tight, unemotional, but inside he was dying. He felt like he was underwater, he could breathe, he couldn't catch his breath._

 _He was gasping for breath by the time someone approached him. A police officer was coming over, a gentle smile of his face. For half a second Jack hoped he would awaken before the police man could speak. He shut his eyes tight and willed himself to wake up._

 _But things never worked out for him, starting from then._

 _"You alright there son?" The police officer asked putting out his hand to help up the teenager who was still lying in the snow, his lips turning blue and his hair white with snow._

 _And Jack laughed. The police officer looked confused and concerned. Jack knew he was wondering if he had gone into to shock. It took Jack a while but when he finally stopped laughing he looked at the officer and cleared his throat._

 _"Sorry, sorry, I just found it funny that you called me son, when you came over to me to tell me I'm no longer anyone's son. Not anymore."_

Jack cringed slightly remembering how strangely he had acted but he supposed, he had enough reason to act the way he had.

But the scary thing with memories is that once you start remembering, it is often hard to stop remembering. And unfortunately for Jack, this brought up a memory, so far repressed that he hadn't thought about it in nearly a year.

 _"This is all your fault. I hope you realise it. No ifs or buts about it. This is 110% your fault. You wonder why no one likes you? This should be your proof." The words had been screamed at him and yet the voice remained at a low volume. But to Jack they rang in his ears. It was true after all,_

 _"Your fault."_ For months those were the words that would keep Jack awake at night. Wake him from his sleep, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead and tears wetting his cheeks.

 _"All you fault. If it weren't for you." If it wasn't for Jack things would be different. "If it weren't for you mum and dad would still be alive and even better, you wouldn't be."_

Those had been the last words Jacks sister had said to him. Jack had already blamed himself but that was the icing on top of the cake. Rose had looked at him, her eyes cold and full of anger, no love at all in them as she had spoken the words before turning on her heel and leaving Jack with tears wetting his t-shirt so badly that it was stiff with salt and his eyes had stung.

Rose had been eighteen when their parents had died, she was left the house, and the money. Jack had expected that she would be the one who would be responsible for him but that would be too good to be true. And if his very own sister couldn't bear to look at him then how could he expect any other member of his family to put up with him?

And so, he ended up in foster care, a new school, and family-less. And Jack guessed in a round a bout way, how he ended up being wheeled in for an x-ray. But Jack didn't blame Rose for what she had done. Jack didn't think he deserved the time of day either, but he missed his sister.

He wondered what she was doing now before realising, there was no point wondering, it wasn't like he'd ever actually find out

 **(** _ **Hey guys, sorry if this story is really slow paced, I genuinely don't think I know how to tell a story quickly but I do know where this is going, so I promise there is a plot. Thank you so much to all you that followed, favourited and reviewed, it means the world to me and I hope you continue to do so. This chapter is slightly different I feel, but I hope yous don't mind. Thanks again and I hope you enjoyed.)**_


	15. When the truth becomes unravelled

_When the truth becomes unravelled_

X-Rays, thankfully, were painless. In all fairness, all Jack had to do was be there. He was told not to move and he could do that easily enough. It took a little while to get it finished but Jack didn't mind. It was quite peaceful just lying there with the machines humming gently at his sides. Although lying down did make breathing tougher. But that was no big deal, he decided. They had changed his oxygen mask to one of those that went into your nose. It tickled by at least he could still talk

They first checked his ankle and while they checked the x-ray they also gave him a chest x-ray, saying that if he had any signs of 'Pulmonary edema' it would need to be discovered immediately in case in developed into pneumonia or worse.

Jack didn't really know exactly what they had to see to discover this but then again, like he was reminded earlier, he didn't exactly have a medical degree so it wasn't like he should know.

After the x-ray he was moved back to a room to stay in until the doctors looked over his results and decided on the course of action. While he was waiting a woman entered the room. She was wearing neither nurses scrubs nor doctors gear so Jack wasn't entirely sure who she was but she had a gentle smile on her face.

"Your foster mother is here." She said watching carefully to see if there was any sign of reaction from Jack. Jack's shock for her having known who Julia was must have read as fear because the woman looked concerned as she sat down beside him.

"I can send her away if you'd like?" She said keeping an eye on his carefully.

"No, no, don't be silly, send her in." Jack said quickly trying to make it seem like he was completely fine. The last thing he needed was to send Julia to doghouse. "I want to see her." He said trying to look as sincere as possible.

Well, to be perfectly honest, he didn't really want to see her, but that was a Jack thing. He didn't want to see anyone. He hated concern, it was one of the things that always bothered him so to be somewhere like a hospital, well lets just say it was his worst nightmare. But if he had to see anyone, Julia would be perfect.

The woman nodded. "Okay, but if you need her to leave at any time just press this button." She said gesturing to a button at the side of the bed. Jack just nodded lying back onto the pillow. He still felt exhausted to his core, and would rather nap but knew he had to act completely fine with Julia.

The woman left and a few minutes later she was replaced with Julia who, of course, looked unbelievably concerned. "Jack!" She exclaimed shock passing through her at the image of the pale boy before her. "What happened? Are you alright? What did the doctors say?" She said as she moved to sit next to his.

"I'm alright." He said with a small smile. "Just a bit banged up s'all." He said tiredly.

"No offence but you look slightly worse than banged up." Julia said furrowing her brow. She reached forward and felt his forehead. "You're still slightly warm too. Do you still feel ill?"

"Not really." Jack said. "I mean, I don't feel 100% but I don't think I'm going to vomit."

Silence followed his statement and Jack could tell what question she was going to ask next and he really wanted to avoid it. But of course that never happened.

"Jack." Julia spoke softly. "What's going on? What happened?" She asked sitting forward in her seat brushing a hand through his hair, something his mother used to do when he was little.

"I-I-I..." Jack couldn't find the words he needed to speak. It was all a mess in his mind. He took a deep breathe (Well as deep as he could with his 'issues') "I don't want to say." He said trying to keep the shake out of his voice.

"Please Jack, don't you realise how dangerous all of this is? You are in a hospital bed right now and no one knows why sweetheart. You need to tell us, because where I'm standing, it looks really bad. So please, just tell me." She pleaded with him. She felt a pang of guilt interrogating him whilst he lay as white as sheet in a hospital bed, but she needed to know.

Jack took a deep breath hoping to keep his voice steady. "Um well, the um day before yesterday I-I was walking home from school and em," Jack began trying to keep his voice level. "I-I was being followed, um I-I think."

"By who?" Julia asked leaning forward and taking Jacks hand worry forming within her. "Who followed you?"

"I-I-I couldn't see their face, it was covered, by-by a mask."Jack lied. "He- Whoever it was, they beat me up, I was..." Jack took a deep breathe. "I coughed up some blood and they left. My ankle was all twisted and swollen and my chest was in so much pain so I-I just went home and went straight to bed, because I was so tired, and I thought I would be fine when I woke up." Jack said, thankful to get at least some of the story off of his chest.

"When I did wake up, I felt like death warmed up. I knew I couldn't face school, so I decided to pull a sickie, I got Conor to go get you and I warmed up my forehead with a radiator. But then after moving, I felt so sick, and dizzy that I ended up actually getting sick, which I suppose you already knew." Jack said.

"But I didn't feel as rubbish today and I thought maybe I could actually go to school, but I forgot we have P.E first thing. What happened at school was an accident. Aster, he saw me take out Sandy in dodge ball and then to retaliate he tried to take me out and the same time and someone dodged a ball and rammed straight into my side. And I fell over and hit my head a little so they took me to the nurses office and he decided that I needed an ambulance because he didn't like the way my ribs looked or the way I was breathing. I told them you were my aunt, and that my parents were at work."

Jack said the last bit embarrassed at having to tell Julia but he decided that it would be easier to tell as much of the truth as possible

Julia was horrified, not at the aunt thing but the story as a whole. "You were attacked? Between the house and the school?" She asked, worry coating her voice. "Why didn't you tell us? We could have done something, we could have taken proper care of you. I mean, you were coughing blood? That's serious." She ranted more to herself than at Jack, she just wanted to be able to get it out.

"I was embarrassed, I was completely useless against them and I didn't want to worry you. I thought that if I just left it alone, it would just go away, I'm sorry." And he was sorry, but he knew if he did it again he would probably do the same thing again.

"Oh, pet, you have nothing to be sorry about. You were part of a vicious attack and I understand that you didn't tell anyone. I wish you did but you have nothing to be sorry about. You just need to get better now." She said looking down at him stroking his head gently. She felt guilty that it had happened so close to her and was even guiltier that she hadn't seen through the boys act.

"You look exhausted, do you want to sleep or anything?" She asked him. Jack thought about it before realising that yes, he really wanted to sleep, even just for a little while.

"Wake me if the doctor comes back." He yawned and Julia nodded promising that she would, but the boy had already fallen asleep.


	16. F is for friends

_F is for friends_

Waking up somewhere you're not used to is a weird experience. You're never quite sure what's going on around you. It always takes a while to remember where it is that you are. In those moments it's easy to panic and will your body to remember, but it doesn't work like.

Jack woke up very slowly. His eyes were still firmly shut so he had to rely on his other senses to figure out where he was. His eyes were heavy and he didn't think he could open them if he tried. It was as though they were glued shut.

Something was tickling his nose but he knew that was there before he fell asleep, but now there was something similar tickling the crook of his arm. The noises around him were strange. Every now and again he would hear a faint noise that was like a machine beeping in the background.

His mouth was dry, something that only ever happened after a long sleep, but Jack hadn't been asleep for that long, had he?

But all of sudden, Jack was pulled from his thoughts as a voice he didn't recognise began to speak. "He was luckier than you can imagine." The voice said.

"Fluid in lungs is common enough in injuries involving the ribs but usually they are caught a lot earlier on the Jack's. Did he say he was coughing blood?"

However he asked must have nodded because Jack heard no reply but the person continued to speak. "That's usually not a good sign but luckily enough, there was very little fluid in his lungs when we examined him meaning either it's somehow draining or else there wasn't that much to begin with. We are hoping the rest will be gone by tomorrow, we'll have to keep him here until it clears."

"Will there be any lasting damage?" A woman asked. Jack knew that voice. Why was Julia here?

"There shouldn't be once it clears up but his breathing might not be 100% for a few weeks. He won't be allowed to do any sport or tasks that would strain him or make him out of breath until he's fully healed." The man said. Jack guessed he was a doctor. Slowly the memories came back to him.

"Three of his ribs have hairline fractures and one is completely broken. That is what caused the fluid. There isn't a lot we can do for him except try and help with the pain until it fully heals. We've bandaged it up and administrated some morphine to help with the pain but because of that he'll more than likely be confused when he wakes and groggy. There is also a chance it'll make him slightly nauseous." That would explain how tired he felt.

"The last thing is his ankle, it is broken in one place and a ligament is torn in another place. He'll need physio when the bone heals to make sure he won't be left with a limp but unfortunately, even with physio it's still a possibility."

"Other than that is he fine?" Julia asked, concern thick in her voice.

"Yes, he is bruised and has a few cuts but nothing that will affect him for must longer than a week. Like I said he was lucky. He'll have to stay until at least tomorrow before we can even consider allowing him to go home. We will prescribe him stuff for the pain that he can take daily and he should have regular check ups to make sure his injuries are healing alright."

"Thank you doctor. I can't thank you enough for the care you have given him." Julia said.

"It's my job." The doctor replied. "Please let a nurse know when he wakes so we can send in Officer Boyle to file the report."

Jack heard the door open and close and the sound of a chair being pulled out. He then felt a hand brush across his forehead and sweeping his hair out of his face. He decided it was probably time to wake himself up properly.

He opened his eyes blearily and looked up at Julia. "Hi." He said faintly giving her a small smile.

"Hi sweetheart, how do you feel?" She asked returning the smile to him. "Did we wake you?"

Jack shook his head although he felt slightly dazed at the actions. "I feel kind of weird, the room is sorta spinning and I kinda feel like I'm not all here?" Jack asked furrowing his brows.

"They gave you morphine for the pain." Julia explained. "That's probably what it is."

Jack nodded before looking down at his arm and noticing the IV sticking out of it. "What's that?" He asked confused looking down at it.

"An IV, it's how they're keeping you hydrated and how they gave you your medicine." Again Jack nodded. That and his nose pipe were annoying him making him want to scratch at it but he knew not to.

"Sweetheart, you still look exhausted, maybe you should sleep." She said worriedly as she looked down at the deep bags under his eyes. "Maybe things will be clearer when you wake up. Unless you're hungry or anything?"

"Please don't make me eat anything." Jack pleaded. "It'll make me sick."

"You don't have to eat unless you want to but you need sleep. You can eat after you wake up." She told him.

"But I just woke up? How long did I sleep for?" He asked

"Only an hour or two, you need your rest. And we need you to tell the Officer what happened to you when you wake up so they can see what they can do to stop it happening again." She told him.

A pang of fear went through Jack at the mention of having talking to an officer but he suppressed it (something he did very well). "Okay, maybe I'll sleep for a little while." He said closing his eyes again. "I'm not even tired." He said stifling a yawn. Julia just laughed at him sadness running through her as she looked at her broken foster son. But he was going to be okay. And he would never end up in a hospital bed again under her watch.

Aster thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest based on how fast it was beating. He could physically feel the guilt coursing through his body.

After being asked by the nurse to leave the office, he sat outside the door in case Jack needed any help. Eventually the nurse came out of the room to call someone or something when he spotted Aster and sent him back to class.

Aster was halfway to his next class (maths) when he realised he was still wearing his PE clothes. That meant he had to go all the way back to the gym to change. With a sigh and a heavy heart he made his way to the gym and quickly changed clothes. It was so close to lunch that Aster decided he would just go to the canteen and wait for the rest of them.

Aster was nearly at the door to the canteen when the door opened and two paramedics walked in holding a stretcher, headed straight for the nurses office.

Aster genuinely thought he was going to sick, both with worry for his friend and guilt for because it was his fault. All his fault.

Aster stood and watched until they were out of sight. He considered waiting to see Jack when he decided he had done enough damage and Jack wouldn't want to see him.

He turned around as the bell rang and his heart dropped some more. He was going to have to tell his friends that Jack had to go to the hospital. They would probably blame him too.

They all knew that him and Jack liked to argue and act as if they disliked one another but hopefully they knew it was only a bit of fun and that he didn't actually hate Jack. They had to understand that it was an accident. Didn't they?

Aster didn't bother with food and just went straight to their table, attempting to calm his nerves by taking small sips of water. It helped a little but not a lot.

It was much worse when he noticed Fia stalking over to him, her face pale with worry. "Where's Jack? What happened? Did they send him home?" She asked quicker than she usually would talk.

"I- Em- Well, maybe we should wait for the rest so I can tell it all at once." Aster said nervously.

"Aster, you're scaring me, is he okay at least?" She asked biting her lip sitting down beside her friend, looking terrified.

Aster sighed. "I actually don't know." He said quietly looking down at his hands.

It was an agonising few minutes waiting on everyone else to arrive but when they finally did Aster took a deep breathe and began to talk.

"Coach and I took him to the nurses office, he didn't look great and his breathing was kinda off. The nurse thought he might have been concussed and Jack couldn't even remember hitting his head. He said Jack's ankle didn't look great but that it looked like it was injured before today, same with his head." Aster began shakily. Everyone else was completely silent listening.

"The nurse noticed he was breathing funny and he knew he was sick the day before so he wanted to see his chest and stomach. Jack said no and then the nurse sent us out of the room. I sat outside for a while before he came out and told me to get to class. I was still in my PE gear so I went to change in the gym. When I came out..." Aster took a deep breath. "When I came out, two paramedics were coming down the hall, walking towards the nurses office. I'm not sure what happened after that."

Silence followed his statement as the others looked between each other, each in shock. "He's in the hospital?" Nick asked, being the first to find his voice.

Aster shrugged. "I think so, I don't know for sure though." Then he paused before continuing. "Look, I'd understand if you all hated me. I get it."

Sandy frowned at him before signing "Why would we hate you?"

"It's my fault, I put Jack in hospital." Aster said guiltily.

Fia rolled her eyes at him. "It's no more your fault than it is his. Something else must have happened before this because you didn't hit him hard enough to get him hospitalised. He was quiet all morning too. Maybe it's something to do with him being sick yesterday?"

"Well there's only one way to find out." Nick said. "We need to sneak out and visit him."

( _Hi! Hope yous enjoy this chapter! Decided to mix it up with someone elses POV! Please favourite, follow and revie, it really does mean the world to me. Thanks for reading!)_


	17. Where's the good cop when you need him?

( _ **Hey guys! This is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy! I actually read through the previous chapters of this fic and I'm so embarrassed by how many mistakes I've made in it. There's no continuality in it at all. I don't seem to stick to an age or anything for more than a chapter and then I change it again haha. I can't seem to just remember what I said. So because of that I'd like to thank all of you that stuck with it because to be honest, I probably would have. So thank you. Now that I have that said, enjoy!)**_

 _Where's the good cop when you need him?_

"Could you please describe to us in as much detail as possible, what underwent the afternoon you were attacked." The Officer stated looking down at Jack who felt extremely vulnerable lying in the hospital bed.

Jack cleared his throat and tried to sit up straighter. "Well, I was walking home from school..."

The officer immediately cut him off. "Do you usually walk home?" He asked.

"No, normally my friend takes me home." Jack said.

"Why didn't he take you home that day?" The officer asked.

"I wanted to talk to someone and I saw her walking in my direction so I told my friend I would walk home to get a chance to talk." Jack explained.

"So you weren't alone?" The officer asked.

"Well, we walked to her house which would probably have been half of the walk from the school to the house."

"So she wasn't present at the time of the attack?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"No sir, she wasn't. I was alone, maybe 5 minutes from her house when it took place."

"What area did it happen in?" The man asked.

"Between Arthurs road and River Avon I think." Jack frowned trying to remember. "It wasn't near any houses and it's quiet a secluded road because it's a short cut so there's rarely anyone on it. It's the route I always take because it shaves five minutes off the journey." Jack explained

"Does anyone know that you take this route?" He asked.

"Not that I'm aware of. It never really came up in conversation." Jack told him.

"Okay, then what happened?" The man asked.

Jack took a shaky breath. "Well, I wasn't sure but I felt like someone was behind me. I didn't want to look because it would make me seem like a weirdo so I just kept walking. Then I heard footsteps behind me but I still didn't look." Jack bit his lip before continuing. "Next thing I knew, I was being shoved forward, that's when I went down on my ankle. He started kicking me in my stomach and chest and anywhere he could reach. I started coughing up some blood and that's when he stopped. He gave me one last push and left."

"You keep saying 'he', how did you know what gender they were?" The officer asked.

"Well, based on their height, lack of breasts, Adams apple and the fact their voice was so deep." Jack replied

"And you had a chance to see all this?" The officers asked.

"When he was leaving I noticed but in all honesty, I wasn't in a great state of mind. But that means that I could be wrong but I'm think it was a man." Jack said.

The Officer didn't speak for a moment as he wrote something that Jack couldn't see down.

"Have you any idea who it may have been? Anyone with any reason to hurt you?" The Officer asked him, studying his face carefully.

Jack shrugged. "I don't have any enemies, I'm not very talkative or loud-mouthed. I tend to keep to myself. I don't know why anyone would want to hurt me." Jack said.

"What about your friends? Would any of them have tried to harm you? Someone who was maybe angry that you didn't go home with them and decided to instead walk?"

"My friends would never, ever, hurt me. Especially over me deciding to walk home." Jack said, his voice calm and collected, more so than it had been since then. "I can guarantee that."

"What about you foster family then? I understand that foster families can be made of all different types of troubled children."

Jack made a face. "We're not troubled, besides Conor is the only one who is old enough to make any damage and he was on your watch that day."

The Officer frowned looking at Jack. "My watch?"

"On Tuesdays, Conor gets picked up by a police man outside school, who takes him to prison so he can visit his dad. Conor was nowhere near me and also we go to different schools that are ages from each other. Conor wouldn't have even known I was walking home from school." Jack explained.

"Everyone else in that house are basically in their nappies. They couldn't have done it."

"Not everyone." The Officer said.

Jack looked at him narrowing his eyes. "Julia and Max would never, even consider thinking about laying a hand on any of us, much less actually do it. You do realise we're their family? They might not have actually biologically had us but we are still family. Julia could not do any more to help us out than she actually is. And Max treats us as if we're his own. The fact that you even think they would harm me shows how little you actually know about them."

Maybe Jack was laying it on a little strong but he wanted there to be no doubt it the officers mind that it was not Julia or Max that had done this. He rather tell the truth than let them take the blame for something they had zero part in.

"Look at it this way kid. 9 times out of 10 when a foster child ends up in hospital its either the foster parents or one of the other foster kids. What are we supposed to think? You end up beaten from head to toe and no knowledge of who it is, it looks a little suspicious don't you think?" The officer said, a smug smile of his face. He looked nothing like an officer who was apparently questioning an abused boy. He looked like he was enjoying it.

"Officer, my blood is probably still lying on that road if you want to go and see it for yourself. The piece of wood I used to help myself walk is still there. Believe what you want to believe but don't you dare go pointing fingers at people that have nothing to do with this. Consider me as the 1 in 10 that isn't here because of abuse. Because someone attacked me, but I don't know who." Jack said breathlessly. The pipe made it difficult to talk quickly and breathe easily at the same time.

The officer stayed silent for a second as he wrote something down in his notepad. "Do you have any reason to think anyone saw you between the attack and you getting home? To check you alibi."

"I ran into my friend." Jack sighed. "He was walking his dog near my house. He thought I just twisted my ankle. He helped me get home."

"What's your friends' name?" The officer asked writing quickly.

"Sandy Anderson." Jack replied.

"Have you his contact information?" The officer asked.

"Well, he sort of doesn't speak." Jack said awkwardly realising how it must sound.

"Well isn't that convenient?" The officer said rolling his eyes.

"He can sign though. Or write it out." Jack said hurriedly.

"Fine, give me his guardians number and see what I can do." The officer said. "Thank you for your time Mr Frost, we'll be in touch."

Jack sighed leaning heavily into the pillow feeling exhausted despite having only woken up before the officer had arrived but it had taken a lot out of him. He could only hope he had done enough to get Julia and Max out of the danger zone. Because if they got in trouble because of this, Jack would never forgive himself.

( _ **Hope you have enjoyed! Please follow favourite and review, it makes me so happy! Until next time!)**_


	18. Breaking Free

_Breaking Free_

Sneaking out of the school was far easier than it probably should have been. People always walked around outside at lunch so no one questioned it when the four of them left walking outside in a group. Then it was just a matter of getting far enough away without anyone noticing which again was probably far too easy.

The most difficult bit was actually getting to North's car which was parked near the teachers staff room. They had to be extremely quiet opening and closing doors and starting the engine. But again no one noticed them. Maybe because they waited for the bell to ring, and then started the engine.

But they were all at the stage that they didn't care if they were caught. The teacher would just have to try and understand the situation if they were caught which while they hoped it wouldn't happen, they would just have to deal with it.

"Do any of you know what hospital he's at?" Fia asked looking around at the others. "I'm guessing the one in town." Sandy signed back at her. Nick nodded. "Okay then, that's where we'll go."

The drive was quite tense. No one was in the mood to chat and none of them turned out the radio. Sandy decided he should tell them about his weird encounter with Jack, the day before he sick. Deciding he didn't want to have to sign out the same thing three times to tell each person, he wrote down what had happened and handed it to Fia, signing for her to read it aloud.

Fia frowned at him but despite this she started to read out the note.

 _"The day Jack decided to walk home instead of get a ride with us, I seen Jack. It was maybe half an hour or more after I got home. I was walking Goldie and I seen Jack. He was limping and he looked like he had a bruise under his eyes. I helped him home and he told me he fell but that he was fine."_ Fia read as the rest of the group listened intently.

Sandy purposely kept out the part about the foster home because if it was true he felt it wasn't his place to say anything. If Jack wanted to tell them, he would in his own time. Jack was the type to clam up when asked a question like that and he wanted Jack to feel comfortable enough with his friends to tell instead of telling them out of necessity.

"He fell on his way home from school then?" Fia asked, confusion coating her voice. "Is that why PE hurt him way more than it should have?"

"Even still, a fall wouldn't send you to hospital unless it was down some stairs or something? Hardly on a road." North said.

"I'd say it was just a mixture of the two, he was probably unlucky enough to be hit in the same place twice and caused some damage, I mean it would explain his ankle anyway because if he was already limping and he fell again, it could do some damage." Aster said thinking aloud more so than actually saying it to the others. "And maybe he hit his head which would be why the nurse thought he may have been concussed before today."

"Why didn't you say anything about this before?" Fia asked Sandy.

Sandy shrugged. "He asked me not to." He signed. "And until now I didn't think it was that important. He seemed fine this morning."

"We're nearly there." North informed them. "Let's hope he'll be alright anyway."

In the hospital, a doctor was tending to Jack's foot. He was informing him about taking care of it and keeping it rested.

"Those tears are quite deep and unfortunately with them it can be hard to predict what the outcome might be. You might be completely fine, you may need physio and worst comes to worst you may be left with a permanent limp. Hopefully that won't be the case but anything is possible. What's important now is you do not walk on it. Crutches are now your best friend, alright?"

Jack nodded. The thought of having a permanent limp didn't seem ideal to him, but at this moment in time, he didn't really care, he just wanted everyone to leave so that he could get some sleep but instead, everyone in the hospital seemed hell bent on making sure that didn't happen.

They were poking and prodding his injuries and bringing stuff in and out of the room. Now they were wrapping up his foot, and there was no way in hell he'd be able to sleep through the pain of was unbelievably painful because of the way they had to move it. That and his pain meds were wearing off and he didn't bother telling anyone that it had happened. He knew that would be another big job to get it changed and he would probably never get to sleep.

The doctor finished up, leaving a list of the do's and don't's to looking after his foot, on the table for Jack to read through when he felt a little better. Just as he went to close his eyes, Julia arrived into the room with a tray of food.

Jack suppressed a tired groan and instead gave her a small smile as he sat up in the bed.

"I think it's about time you had something to eat." She smiled laying the tray down on the over the bed table. "I just got you something easy to eat, soup and toast. And if you'd like I can get you some tea?"

"No, no... This is perfect, thanks Julia." Jack said quickly. Food was the least of his worries but he knew if he didn't eat Julia would instead worry, so he started taking small spoonful's of soups, spending longer actually putting it onto the spoon than he did eating it.

"The doctors said you can go home tomorrow if you have no problems between then and now. But you're going to need to take some time off of school, just to get some rest and heal properly without putting too much strain on your body because that'll just make it worse."

Jack nodded as he picked at a bit of bread. "What about my assignments and homework?" He asked looking up at her.

"Well, I'd rather if you properly took this week off to rest, but if you want we can arrange for your friends to drop the work off at the house."

Jack did not want that. That was a sure way for them to realise he was an orphan and fostered and he did not want that.

"Maybe you're right, maybe I'll just rest and get back into the work properly next week." He said to her.

She gave him a small smile and ruffled his hair. "That's fine, I'll give the teachers a ring and make sure they understand the situation." She said softly. "Now eat up your food so you can get some rest."

Jack smiled, happy that he would finally get some rest. He finished up his food and just as Julia collected his tray to return it, a nurse popped her head around the door.

"Up for some visitors?" She asked sweetly. "Your friends are here to see you."

Jack nearly groaned but he knew his friends deserved some answers. Especially Aster. Even if the answers were partially a lie. So instead of groaning and hiding under his pillow, Jack forced a tired smile on his face and said. "Great, send them in."

 _(Hey guys, I get this isn't really a cliffhanger but I haven't updated in a while and knew if I kept going this chapter would probably take twice as long. I know my chapters are short but I find it easier to write shorter chapters more often if you get what I mean. Also, I'll be able to keep writing quite regularly until the end of July but after that things might be a little slower because I'm going on holiday and it's just a busy time. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and please tell me your thoughts in the reviews!)_


	19. Quick Note

This is just a quick note to let you all know what's currently going on. I had planned to update this story all summer until it was finished, but something came up and my family received some bad news yesterday. Basically, I'm in a place where I'll probably just kill off all the characters if I write the next few chapters so instead of that, I'm going to take a small break and get my head back in the game. It'll probably be mid-August before I get a chance to write again. Thank you all for the support for this story and I promise, this is not the end. I will be back. I just need some time right now. Thank you all x


	20. Visiting Hour

Visiting Hour

The four sat outside Jacks room nervously. None of them were sure what was ahead of them. There was a police man sitting a few feet away, reading through some notes. He kept glancing at the four of them and at Jack's room. It didn't help with their nerves.

"Mr Frost is ready to see you now." The nurse smiled at the group as she left Jack's room. "He's quite tired, so maybe try not to work him up or upset him." She said giving the police man a dirty look out of the side of her eye.

The four of them nodded before entering the room. They shuffled in, none of them quite sure what to say to the pale figure lying in the bed. Jack rolled his eyes at them. "Hey guys." He said quite brightly, hoping to lighten the mood a little. "Welcome to my humble abode." He said spreading his arms and gesturing around the room.

The all looked at each other awkwardly. "How are you feeling?" North asked quietly.

"Just perky." Jack said sarcastically. "Feel like I could run a marathon." He joked.

But no one laughed. Jack took the hint and sighed. "I'm fine, really. I'm just sore and tired and sick of people looking at me like I'll crumble if they say the wrong thing."

Fia sat down beside him and gently took his hand, being careful not to disturb any of the wires or the IV. "What happened Jack? Please tell us the truth."

"Well, d'ya know the way I walked home the last day." He said trying awkwardly to sit up a little higher in the bed so that he didn't feel as strange being flat on his back with everyone else miles higher up than him.

"Well, I was sort of attacked. I don't know who did it." He said quickly because he could see all their mouths beginning to open. "I was walking and I was shoved forward, messed up my ankle and then they started kicking me. I covered my head so that I wouldn't get hit there but that meant I couldn't see who did it. My eyes were covered. I think it might have been a man though."

The four gaped at him. "Jack…" Fia began.

"Why didn't you say anything?" North said at the same time as Sandy signed. "That's what was wrong with you."

Jack winced slightly. "I hate attention, so I just thought it would be easier to do nothing." He said. "I was kind of embarrassed as well, like I got beaten up in broad daylight and I could do absolutely nothing to stop it."

"And I just didn't think that anything would really come from it. And if fairness, I wasn't that bad at school. I was in pain kind of but I felt mostly fine. I forgot we had PE first and well…" Jack shrugged.

Fia sighed looking down at the boy. "Jack, you look awful, you should have told us, or if not us someone at least. We're your friends, we only want for you to be okay."

"I am okay." Jack said. "Really, it was just a freak accident, I'll be fine."

"Jack… we overheard that you were coughing up blood. That is not what someone who is okay does." North said.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Guys, I appreciate the concern and what not but I'm fine, I can go home tomorrow if everything goes according to plan. Then I just need to rest and I'll be good as new. Bit of physio and you'll never know that anything ever happened. I don't need to be babied."

"Babied?" Aster asked, speaking for the first time since he had entered the room. "You think everyone is babying you? Jack you should see yourself right now. You're as white as the sheet you're lying on with tubes helping you breathe. Your foot is so messed up you need physio? The nurse told us that your ribs are so messed up that they're affecting you breathing. Jack, we're not stupid. If this is your 'okay' I'd hate to see you when you're in bad form."

Jack glanced up to the boy. "I actually am fine." He said quietly.

North sighed quietly. "Jack, do you know who did this to you? Are you trying to protect someone? Because if you are, they aren't worth protecting."

"It was a stupid attack, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time and I am actually fine, alright?" Jack said trying to sit up to prove his point more but getting breathless at the strain.

Aster gently pushed him back down. "Don't hurt yourself any more than you already are."

Fia glanced between them all. "Maybe we should let you get some sleep, you look wrecked."

Jack sighed as they all stood up. "I'm sorry guys, but I just hate when people make a big deal over me."

"We know." Fia said patting his cheek. "We're just worried about you. No offence but you look half way to death."

Jack gave a small laugh before remembering what the police man had said. "Actually, Sandy could I talk to you for a second?"

Sandy nodded and held back as the other all gave Jack their farewells promising to visit the next day.

"Look Sand, when you saw me the last day that was after it happened. I didn't want to mention you but the police man started saying that it must have been my.. my parents that hurt me so they asked for proof that it happened between school and home. I told them you helped me. I'm really sorry dude, I didn't want to throw you under the bus and I really hope that they don't question you, but I just thought maybe it would be best if I let you know rather than just have the cops arrive at your house."

Sandy nodded and sighed back to Jack. "I knew something had to be wrong with you that day, you were so shaky. Sorry I wasn't more help."

"You were plenty of help." Jack told him.

"And it's definitely not your parents?" Sandy asked.

Jack shook his head. "My parents would never in a million years do that."

Sandy nodded and at that he bid farewell and left leaving Jack alone with his thoughts. A dangerous thing and before long he felt himself slipping off to sleep. Again.

((Hello again, remember me? I am so sorry for the lack of updates but like I said in a previous note, the past few months have been rough on my family and I felt like I would have killed off everyone in this story due to it. Things still aren't perfect but they're better so I decided it was time for an update. Now I can guarantee the updates won't be regular but I promise I haven't given up. Just stick with me for the time being. So thank you all for staying and I appreciate you all so much.))


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